Re: [PATCH] kbuild: get lib-y objects back to static library

[Nick Desaulniers]

On Thu, Aug 24, 2023 at 11:59 AM Nathan Chancellor <nathan@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
> On Wed, Aug 23, 2023 at 01:20:42PM -0700, Nathan Chancellor wrote:
> > Hi Masahiro,
> >
> > On Wed, Aug 23, 2023 at 09:08:16PM +0900, Masahiro Yamada wrote:
> > > Revert the following two commits:
> > >
> > >  - 7273ad2b08f8 ("kbuild: link lib-y objects to vmlinux forcibly when CONFIG_MODULES=y")
> > >  - 7f2084fa55e6 ("[kbuild] handle exports in lib-y objects reliably")
> > >
> > > Now, lib-y is back to static library again, and the link order is
> > > consistent w/wo CONFIG_MODULES.
> > >
> > > Since commit ddb5cdbafaaa ("kbuild: generate KSYMTAB entries by
> > > modpost"), .vmlinux.export.c contains references to exported symbols.
> > > If a symbol in a lib-y object is exported, that object is always linked
> > > even without any explicit user in vmlinux.
> > >
> > > Signed-off-by: Masahiro Yamada <masahiroy@xxxxxxxxxx>
> > > ---
> > >
> > >  Makefile | 5 -----
> > >  1 file changed, 5 deletions(-)
> > >
> > > diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
> > > index 87a9eef3fb4b..71e9c65d9eae 100644
> > > --- a/Makefile
> > > +++ b/Makefile
> > > @@ -1113,12 +1113,7 @@ export ARCH_DRIVERS  := $(drivers-y) $(drivers-m)
> > >  # Externally visible symbols (used by link-vmlinux.sh)
> > >
> > >  KBUILD_VMLINUX_OBJS := ./built-in.a
> > > -ifdef CONFIG_MODULES
> > > -KBUILD_VMLINUX_OBJS += $(patsubst %/, %/lib.a, $(filter %/, $(libs-y)))
> > > -KBUILD_VMLINUX_LIBS := $(filter-out %/, $(libs-y))
> > > -else
> > >  KBUILD_VMLINUX_LIBS := $(patsubst %/,%/lib.a, $(libs-y))
> > > -endif
> > >
> > >  export KBUILD_VMLINUX_LIBS
> > >  export KBUILD_LDS          := arch/$(SRCARCH)/kernel/vmlinux.lds
> > > --
> > > 2.39.2
> > >
> >
> > The build error that prompted 7273ad2b08f8 from [1] appears to return
> > with this patch, for example:
> >
> > $ make -skj"$(nproc)" ARCH=arm64 LLVM=1 O=build mrproper virtconfig all
> > ...
> > ERROR: modpost: "__memcat_p" [drivers/hwtracing/stm/stm_core.ko] undefined!
> > ...
> >
> > [1]: https://github.com/ClangBuiltLinux/linux/issues/515
>
> One thing I forgot to note with this is this occurs when targeting arm,
> arm64, hexagon, i386, powerpc, s390, and x86_64 with various in-tree
> configurations (I can provide a list if necessary).

shot in the dark here, but does this help? (Nathan indicates it does,
at least for `ARCH=arm64 virtconfig`)
```
diff --git a/lib/Makefile b/lib/Makefile
index 1ffae65bb7ee..289ab15f8659 100644
--- a/lib/Makefile
+++ b/lib/Makefile
@@ -33,9 +33,11 @@ lib-y := ctype.o string.o vsprintf.o cmdline.o \
         flex_proportions.o ratelimit.o \
         is_single_threaded.o plist.o decompress.o kobject_uevent.o \
         earlycpio.o seq_buf.o siphash.o dec_and_lock.o \
-        nmi_backtrace.o win_minmax.o memcat_p.o \
+        nmi_backtrace.o win_minmax.o \
         buildid.o

+obj-y  += memcat_p.o
+
 lib-$(CONFIG_PRINTK) += dump_stack.o
 lib-$(CONFIG_SMP) += cpumask.o

```
Masahiro,
I don't fully understand "when to use obj-y vs lib-y" in a kernel
Makefile.  I've read Documentation/kbuild/makefiles.rst and I still
don't get it.  Is this answered elsewhere in the docs? Can you explain
it to me?  Do we need to update the docs?


-- 
Thanks,
~Nick Desaulniers