Re: [PATCH] Add error handling to minix filesystem similar to ext4

[Jori Koolstra]

> 
> Yes, I kind of like that idea too. I think we could maybe take the existing
> in-kernel minix driver and morph it into a FUSE driver which would deal
> with the licensing as well.
> 

By now I am quite comfortable with the in-kernel implementation as it exists.
The parts that I understand less are about how exactly the data from the
device ends up in the right place in memory and how address_space and folios
are built up for it. But these are precisely the parts that are not too
relevant for a userspace driver. So, I would be very happy to work on a GPL
FUSE driver for minix and get it to functional parity for all versions v1-v3.
After that, and when all the available tests run well, we can start the
deprecation process.

I think this would be a great opportunity for me to learn and contribute
something non-trivial, but that is still within my current level of ability.
Shuah has also encouraged me to proceed on this track. However, since this
is more than a couple of days work for me (for one I have to study the FUSE
API), it would be helpful if I can get a sense of whether there is a
reasonable chance for such work to be eventually included upstream. Of
course, only IF it functions according to the criteria set out. I am not
looking for guarantees, because I understand that is not how Linux
development works, but just a sense of how the community feels about this.
So far I have seen quite favorable responses, but I am too unfamiliar with
the development process to understand how this may play out.

Thanks again Jan and Jeff for your patient replies.

Jori