Compilation problems with 2.1.20, first report

Dale R. Worley (worley@ariadne.com)
Tue, 14 Jan 1997 09:38:49 -0500

In order to have a testbed for some changes I'm making, I attempted
to build a 2.1.20 kernel with *everything*. The resulting kernel is a
4.2 Mb behemoth, but it has revealed a large number of compilation
problems. At the bottom of this message is a synopsis of the problems
I've seen. But this experience has suggested to me that the
complaints about the large number of compilation errors in 2.1.*
kernels is an important one -- believe it or not, I have spent two
weeks (calendar time) trying to get 2.1.20 to compile.

The argument has been raised that the 2.1.* kernels are "development"
code and people should accepts whatever they get. I believe that this
idea in its extreme form is counterproductive for the overall
development of Linux -- when someone makes a global change (e.g.,
removing a member from a central kernel data structure) that makes a
bunch of code no longer compile, it would be far less work overall if
the person who did so would make at least a quick fix, rather than
having dozens of other developers go through the laborious process of
trying to figure out what the problem is and what a workable fix is --
especially since they might not know what the global change is
supposed to do!

There is no net benefit in having a dozen or more threads of
development held up in order to make one move along a little faster.

Dale

--
Dale R. Worley					Ariadne Internet Services
Voice: +1 617-899-7949   Fax: +1 617-899-7946	E-mail: worley@ariadne.com
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