From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Return-Path: Received: (majordomo@vger.kernel.org) by vger.kernel.org via listexpand id S262861AbVFVJV4 (ORCPT ); Wed, 22 Jun 2005 05:21:56 -0400 Received: (majordomo@vger.kernel.org) by vger.kernel.org id S262824AbVFVHm4 (ORCPT ); Wed, 22 Jun 2005 03:42:56 -0400 Received: from pentafluge.infradead.org ([213.146.154.40]:64198 "EHLO pentafluge.infradead.org") by vger.kernel.org with ESMTP id S262829AbVFVFhB (ORCPT ); Wed, 22 Jun 2005 01:37:01 -0400 Date: Wed, 22 Jun 2005 06:36:56 +0100 From: Christoph Hellwig To: David Masover Cc: Jeff Garzik , Hans Reiser , Christoph Hellwig , Andrew Morton , linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org, ReiserFS List Subject: Re: reiser4 plugins Message-ID: <20050622053656.GB28228@infradead.org> Mail-Followup-To: Christoph Hellwig , David Masover , Jeff Garzik , Hans Reiser , Andrew Morton , linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org, ReiserFS List References: <20050620235458.5b437274.akpm@osdl.org> <42B831B4.9020603@pobox.com> <42B87318.80607@namesys.com> <20050621202448.GB30182@infradead.org> <42B8B9EE.7020002@namesys.com> <42B8BB5E.8090008@pobox.com> <42B8E834.5030809@slaphack.com> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Disposition: inline In-Reply-To: <42B8E834.5030809@slaphack.com> User-Agent: Mutt/1.4.1i X-SRS-Rewrite: SMTP reverse-path rewritten from by pentafluge.infradead.org See http://www.infradead.org/rpr.html Sender: linux-kernel-owner@vger.kernel.org X-Mailing-List: linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org On Tue, Jun 21, 2005 at 11:25:24PM -0500, David Masover wrote: > > You're basically implementing another VFS layer inside of reiser4, which > > is a big layering violation. > > There's been sloppy code in the kernel before. I remember one bit in > particular which was commented "Fuck me gently with a chainsaw." If I > remember correctly, this had all of the PCI ids and the names and > manufacturers of the corresponding devices -- in a data structure -- in > C source code. It was something like one massive array definition, or > maybe it was a structure. I don't remember exactly, but... Every device driver has a big array of corresponing device ids as an array in C code - oh my god we're doomed .. not. > I agree there, too. In fact, some people have suggested that all > "legacy" (read: non-reiser) filesystems should be implemented as Reiser4 > plugins, effectively killing VFS.* > > So, Reiser4 may eventually take over VFS and be the only Linux > filesystem, but if so, it will have to do it much more slowly. Take the > good ideas -- things like plugins -- and make them at least look like > incremental updates to the current VFS, and make them available to all > filesystems. And why exactly would we replace a stable, working abstraction with an unpoven mess?