Re: "ibstat -l" displays CA device list in an unsorted order

[Haim Boozaglo <haimbo@mellanox.com>]

On 2/26/2020 7:09 PM, Jason Gunthorpe wrote:
> On Wed, Feb 26, 2020 at 03:57:49PM +0200, Leon Romanovsky wrote:
>> On Wed, Feb 26, 2020 at 09:43:10AM -0400, Jason Gunthorpe wrote:
>>> On Tue, Feb 25, 2020 at 10:25:49AM +0200, Haim Boozaglo wrote:
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> On 2/24/2020 9:41 PM, Jason Gunthorpe wrote:
>>>>> On Mon, Feb 24, 2020 at 08:06:56PM +0200, Haim Boozaglo wrote:
>>>>>> Hi all,
>>>>>>
>>>>>> When running "ibstat" or "ibstat -l", the output of CA device list
>>>>>> is displayed in an unsorted order.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Before pull request #561, ibstat displayed the CA device list sorted in
>>>>>> alphabetical order.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> The problem is that users expect to have the output sorted in alphabetical
>>>>>> order and now they get it not as expected (in an unsorted order).
>>>>>
>>>>> Really? Why? That doesn't look like it should happen, the list is
>>>>> constructed out of readdir() which should be sorted?
>>>>>
>>>>> Do you know where this comes from?
>>>>>
>>>>> Jason
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>> readdir() gives us struct by struct and doesn't keep on alphabetical order.
>>>> Before pull request #561 ibstat have used this API of libibumad:
>>>> int umad_get_cas_names(char cas[][UMAD_CA_NAME_LEN], int max)
>>>>
>>>> This API used this function:
>>>> n = scandir(SYS_INFINIBAND, &namelist, NULL, alphasort);
>>>>
>>>> scandir() can return a sorted CA device list in alphabetical order.
>>>
>>> Oh what a weird unintended side effect.
>>>
>>> Resolving it would require adding a sorting pass on a linked
>>> list.. Will you try?
>>
>> Please be aware that once ibstat will be converted to netlink, the order
>> will change again.
> 
> This is why I suggest a function to sort the linked list that tools
> needing sorted order can call. Then it doesn't matter how we got the list
> 
> Jason
> 

I can just sort the list at the time of insertion of each node.

Haim.