Re: [PATCH] 'make headers_install' kbuild target.

[David Woodhouse]

On Sat, 2006-04-22 at 14:38 +0200, Adrian Bunk wrote:
> What was the recommended way for getting userspace header at last
> year's kernel summit?

It was said that we need _incremental_ changes, and this is an attempt
to satisfy that request.

> > The important thing is that we all get our editors out and clean up the
> > _contents_ our own headers, and actually start to _think_ about the
> > visibility of any new header-file content we introduce. Let's not
> > concentrate too much on the implementation details of how we actually
> > get those to userspace.
> 
> Currently, it's said the kernel headers aren't suitable for userspace.

Indeed they aren't.

> After the cleanups you propose, the kernel headers will be suitable for 
> userspace (the copy steps you propose are not required, distributions 
> could equally start to copy the verbatim headers again).

After the _first_ stage of the cleanups I propose, the export step will
still be necessary. You'll need to pick those headers which are intended
to be user-visible, and leave behind those which are not. 

If we actually go on to abolish __KERNEL__ and move the public headers
to a separate directory, you're right -- as I said, one day hopefully
it'll just be 'cp -a'. But that is not the _first_ stage. We need to do
this incrementally.

> If everyone is working in a different direction, this is only wasting 
> work.

The stated plan is to start with a simple export mechanism which lets us
see the mess we have at the moment and work on the _real_ problem -- the
actual contents of the headers. Then to proceed towards the goal you
stated, which is what we wanted all along.

Who would be working in a different direction? 

-- 
dwmw2

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