Re: CD writing in future Linux (stirring up a hornets' nest)

From: Matthias Andree
Date: Thu Feb 02 2006 - 05:19:20 EST


Joerg Schilling schrieb am 2006-02-02:

> Jan Engelhardt <jengelh@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
> > Which unfortunately leads us back to one of the early questions.
> >
> > If ATAPI is some sort of SCSI [command set] over ATA, and ide-cd can be used
> > without the "Big Bad" SCSI layer (CONFIG_SCSI), don't we have redundant code
> > floating around?
>
> CONFIG_SCSI???
>
> Why not using fully dynamical loadable kernel modules as done with Solaris
> since 1992? Since that time nobody cares because what you need is auto-loaded
> on demand and there is absolutely no need for a manual configuration.

You mean:

Module Size Used by
...
scsi_transport_spi 20864 1 sym53c8xx
scsi_mod 131304 7 st,sr_mod,sg,sym53c8xx,scsi_transport_spi,libata,sd_mod
...

autoloaded on boot, and scsi_mod has verbose sense strings built in
(call it bloat, but on a Peeceeh a few kB don't hurt).

libata is Linux's SATA driver, still under development but quite solid
for some chips, such as via 82*. Chances are that adding PATA to libata
(which is planned or in the works) obsoletes your whole ATAPI ide-* module
arguments, sym53c8xx - no surprise - the host adaptor driver, sr/sd_mod
the CD-ROM and disk block drivers, st and sg tape and generic drivers.

> BTW: Introducing an orthogonal SCSI based implementation would save a lot of
> code. The model currently used on Linux is duplicating a lot of unneeded code
> in target drivers and the SCSI glue code is only a few KB (less than 30k on
> Solaris).

You've been stating this oft enough now. It won't change in a day even
if you post this every hour. Please cease posting the same stuff over
and over again.

--
Matthias Andree
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