[Buildroot] simicsfs 1.18 does not build with kernel 4.12.2

[Buildroot] simicsfs 1.18 does not build with kernel 4.12.2

[Bin Meng]

Hi,

I am using buildroot 2017.08-rc3 to build a rootfs for minnowboard
max. What I did is:

$ make minnowboard_max_defconfig
$ make menuconfig

Select "Target packages" -> "File system and flash utilities" -> simicsfs

$ make

The error message is:

buildroot/output/build/simicsfs-1.18/./hostfs_file.c:67:43: error:
?struct file? has no member named ?f_dentry?; did you mean ?f_owner??
  DPRINT1("hostfs: hostfs_read %ld\n", file->f_dentry->d_inode->i_ino);

buildroot/output/build/simicsfs-1.18/./hostfs_file.c:151:2: error:
unknown field ?aio_read? specified in initializer
  .aio_read = hostfs_aio_read,

buildroot/output/build/simicsfs-1.18/./hostfs_file.c:152:2: error:
unknown field ?aio_write? specified in initializer
  .aio_write = hostfs_aio_write,

buildroot/output/build/simicsfs-1.18/./hostfs_inode.c:174:10: error:
implicit declaration of function ?inode_change_ok?
[-Werror=implicit-function-declaration]
  error = inode_change_ok(inode, iattr);

buildroot/output/build/simicsfs-1.18/./hostfs_inode.c:248:25: error:
?PAGE_CACHE_SHIFT? undeclared (first use in this function)
  pgoff_t index = pos >> PAGE_CACHE_SHIFT;

<snip>

Although the README in the simicsfs 1.18 package says: Linux kernel
2.6.12 and later only. I believe this package does not build for
latest kernel like v4.12.2.

Regards,
Bin

[Buildroot] simicsfs 1.18 does not build with kernel 4.12.2

[Thomas Petazzoni]

Hello,

I'm adding in Cc Matt Weber, who has added the simicsfs package. Matt,
if you can have a look at Bin's e-mail and my reply, and give some
feedback, it would be useful. Thanks!

On Thu, 24 Aug 2017 20:47:39 +0800, Bin Meng wrote:

> I am using buildroot 2017.08-rc3 to build a rootfs for minnowboard
> max. What I did is:
> 
> $ make minnowboard_max_defconfig
> $ make menuconfig
> 
> Select "Target packages" -> "File system and flash utilities" -> simicsfs
> 
> $ make
> 
> The error message is:
> 
> buildroot/output/build/simicsfs-1.18/./hostfs_file.c:67:43: error:
> ?struct file? has no member named ?f_dentry?; did you mean ?f_owner??
>   DPRINT1("hostfs: hostfs_read %ld\n", file->f_dentry->d_inode->i_ino);
> 
> buildroot/output/build/simicsfs-1.18/./hostfs_file.c:151:2: error:
> unknown field ?aio_read? specified in initializer
>   .aio_read = hostfs_aio_read,
> 
> buildroot/output/build/simicsfs-1.18/./hostfs_file.c:152:2: error:
> unknown field ?aio_write? specified in initializer
>   .aio_write = hostfs_aio_write,
> 
> buildroot/output/build/simicsfs-1.18/./hostfs_inode.c:174:10: error:
> implicit declaration of function ?inode_change_ok?
> [-Werror=implicit-function-declaration]
>   error = inode_change_ok(inode, iattr);
> 
> buildroot/output/build/simicsfs-1.18/./hostfs_inode.c:248:25: error:
> ?PAGE_CACHE_SHIFT? undeclared (first use in this function)
>   pgoff_t index = pos >> PAGE_CACHE_SHIFT;
> 
> <snip>
> 
> Although the README in the simicsfs 1.18 package says: Linux kernel
> 2.6.12 and later only. I believe this package does not build for
> latest kernel like v4.12.2.

This is not really Buildroot's fault: simicsfs-1.18 is simply not
compatible with Linux 4.12.

Unfortunately, simicsfs is no longer available at
http://download.simics.net/pub/simicsfs-1.18.tar.gz, where Buildroot
currently downloads it. The build only succeeds because we have a
backup of this tarball at http://sources.buildroot.net.

In addition, when you look at
http://www.cs.sfu.ca/~fedorova/Tech/simics-guides-3.0.26/simics-user-guide-unix/topic33.html,
the https://www.simics.net/pub/simicsfs.tar.gz now redirects to
Windriver. So it seems like Windriver has now taken over the
development of this tool, which generally isn't a very good sign in
terms of openness.

So I guess that if you need simicsfs, compatible with Linux 4.12,
you'll have to patch the source code yourself. Of course, such a patch
would be welcome in Buildroot, so that other users could benefit from
it.

Best regards,

Thomas
-- 
Thomas Petazzoni, CTO, Free Electrons
Embedded Linux and Kernel engineering
http://free-electrons.com

[Buildroot] simicsfs 1.18 does not build with kernel 4.12.2

[Matthew Weber]

Bin,

On Thu, Aug 24, 2017 at 12:33 PM, Thomas Petazzoni
<thomas.petazzoni@free-electrons.com> wrote:
> Hello,
>
> I'm adding in Cc Matt Weber, who has added the simicsfs package. Matt,
> if you can have a look at Bin's e-mail and my reply, and give some
> feedback, it would be useful. Thanks!
>
> On Thu, 24 Aug 2017 20:47:39 +0800, Bin Meng wrote:
>
>> I am using buildroot 2017.08-rc3 to build a rootfs for minnowboard
>> max. What I did is:
>>
>> $ make minnowboard_max_defconfig
>> $ make menuconfig
>>
>> Select "Target packages" -> "File system and flash utilities" -> simicsfs
>>
>> $ make
>>
>> The error message is:
>>
>> buildroot/output/build/simicsfs-1.18/./hostfs_file.c:67:43: error:
>> ?struct file? has no member named ?f_dentry?; did you mean ?f_owner??
>>   DPRINT1("hostfs: hostfs_read %ld\n", file->f_dentry->d_inode->i_ino);
>>
>> buildroot/output/build/simicsfs-1.18/./hostfs_file.c:151:2: error:
>> unknown field ?aio_read? specified in initializer
>>   .aio_read = hostfs_aio_read,
>>
>> buildroot/output/build/simicsfs-1.18/./hostfs_file.c:152:2: error:
>> unknown field ?aio_write? specified in initializer
>>   .aio_write = hostfs_aio_write,
>>
>> buildroot/output/build/simicsfs-1.18/./hostfs_inode.c:174:10: error:
>> implicit declaration of function ?inode_change_ok?
>> [-Werror=implicit-function-declaration]
>>   error = inode_change_ok(inode, iattr);
>>
>> buildroot/output/build/simicsfs-1.18/./hostfs_inode.c:248:25: error:
>> ?PAGE_CACHE_SHIFT? undeclared (first use in this function)
>>   pgoff_t index = pos >> PAGE_CACHE_SHIFT;
>>
>> <snip>
>>
>> Although the README in the simicsfs 1.18 package says: Linux kernel
>> 2.6.12 and later only. I believe this package does not build for
>> latest kernel like v4.12.2.
>
> This is not really Buildroot's fault: simicsfs-1.18 is simply not
> compatible with Linux 4.12.
>
> Unfortunately, simicsfs is no longer available at
> http://download.simics.net/pub/simicsfs-1.18.tar.gz, where Buildroot
> currently downloads it. The build only succeeds because we have a
> backup of this tarball at http://sources.buildroot.net.
>

The project I originally did the 1.18 integration on completed ~2yrs
back and my access to WindRiver Simics material is now gone.  It's too
bad they didn't keep this driver public, however you may check with
your WindRiver Simics contacts to see if they just moved the site and
you could propose an update to this Buildroot package fixing support.

-- 
Matthew L Weber / Pr Software Engineer
Airborne Information Systems / Security Systems and Software / Secure Platforms
MS 131-100, C Ave NE, Cedar Rapids, IA, 52498, USA
www.rockwellcollins.com

Note: Any Export License Required Information and License Restricted
Third Party Intellectual Property (TPIP) content must be encrypted and
sent to matthew.weber at corp.rockwellcollins.com.

[Buildroot] simicsfs 1.18 does not build with kernel 4.12.2

[Thomas Petazzoni]

Hello,

On Thu, 24 Aug 2017 12:50:20 -0500, Matthew Weber wrote:

> > Unfortunately, simicsfs is no longer available at
> > http://download.simics.net/pub/simicsfs-1.18.tar.gz, where Buildroot
> > currently downloads it. The build only succeeds because we have a
> > backup of this tarball at http://sources.buildroot.net.
> 
> The project I originally did the 1.18 integration on completed ~2yrs
> back and my access to WindRiver Simics material is now gone.  It's too
> bad they didn't keep this driver public, however you may check with
> your WindRiver Simics contacts to see if they just moved the site and
> you could propose an update to this Buildroot package fixing support.

To be honest, since the source code is no longer available online, I'm
not sure it's really worth keeping this package in Buildroot. Let's see
if Bin gets some feedback from Windriver about putting the tarball back
online, publicly available. If there is no feedback, we'll drop the
package I believe.

Thomas
-- 
Thomas Petazzoni, CTO, Free Electrons
Embedded Linux and Kernel engineering
http://free-electrons.com

[Buildroot] simicsfs 1.18 does not build with kernel 4.12.2

[Matthew Weber]

Thomas,

On Thu, Aug 24, 2017 at 4:02 PM, Thomas Petazzoni
<thomas.petazzoni@free-electrons.com> wrote:
> Hello,
>
> On Thu, 24 Aug 2017 12:50:20 -0500, Matthew Weber wrote:
>
>> > Unfortunately, simicsfs is no longer available at
>> > http://download.simics.net/pub/simicsfs-1.18.tar.gz, where Buildroot
>> > currently downloads it. The build only succeeds because we have a
>> > backup of this tarball at http://sources.buildroot.net.
>>
>> The project I originally did the 1.18 integration on completed ~2yrs
>> back and my access to WindRiver Simics material is now gone.  It's too
>> bad they didn't keep this driver public, however you may check with
>> your WindRiver Simics contacts to see if they just moved the site and
>> you could propose an update to this Buildroot package fixing support.
>
> To be honest, since the source code is no longer available online, I'm
> not sure it's really worth keeping this package in Buildroot. Let's see
> if Bin gets some feedback from Windriver about putting the tarball back
> online, publicly available. If there is no feedback, we'll drop the
> package I believe.
>

Agree, that would make sense.

-- 
Matthew L Weber / Pr Software Engineer
Airborne Information Systems / Security Systems and Software / Secure Platforms
MS 131-100, C Ave NE, Cedar Rapids, IA, 52498, USA
www.rockwellcollins.com

Note: Any Export License Required Information and License Restricted
Third Party Intellectual Property (TPIP) content must be encrypted and
sent to matthew.weber at corp.rockwellcollins.com.

[Buildroot] simicsfs 1.18 does not build with kernel 4.12.2

[Bin Meng]

Hi Thomas, Matt,

On Fri, Aug 25, 2017 at 5:27 AM, Matthew Weber
<matthew.weber@rockwellcollins.com> wrote:
> Thomas,
>
> On Thu, Aug 24, 2017 at 4:02 PM, Thomas Petazzoni
> <thomas.petazzoni@free-electrons.com> wrote:
>> Hello,
>>
>> On Thu, 24 Aug 2017 12:50:20 -0500, Matthew Weber wrote:
>>
>>> > Unfortunately, simicsfs is no longer available at
>>> > http://download.simics.net/pub/simicsfs-1.18.tar.gz, where Buildroot
>>> > currently downloads it. The build only succeeds because we have a
>>> > backup of this tarball at http://sources.buildroot.net.
>>>
>>> The project I originally did the 1.18 integration on completed ~2yrs
>>> back and my access to WindRiver Simics material is now gone.  It's too
>>> bad they didn't keep this driver public, however you may check with
>>> your WindRiver Simics contacts to see if they just moved the site and
>>> you could propose an update to this Buildroot package fixing support.
>>
>> To be honest, since the source code is no longer available online, I'm
>> not sure it's really worth keeping this package in Buildroot. Let's see
>> if Bin gets some feedback from Windriver about putting the tarball back
>> online, publicly available. If there is no feedback, we'll drop the
>> package I believe.
>>
>
> Agree, that would make sense.
>

Thanks for all your clarifications and suggestions. I did not see this
is an issue of buildroot. Actually I tried the
http://download.simics.net/ link looking for a newer version but
failed so I posted this question in case some others know how. I will
contact Wind River Simics guys for some updates.

Regards,
Bin

[Buildroot] simicsfs 1.18 does not build with kernel 4.12.2

[Bin Meng]

Hi,

On Fri, Aug 25, 2017 at 9:47 AM, Bin Meng <bmeng.cn@gmail.com> wrote:
> Hi Thomas, Matt,
>
> On Fri, Aug 25, 2017 at 5:27 AM, Matthew Weber
> <matthew.weber@rockwellcollins.com> wrote:
>> Thomas,
>>
>> On Thu, Aug 24, 2017 at 4:02 PM, Thomas Petazzoni
>> <thomas.petazzoni@free-electrons.com> wrote:
>>> Hello,
>>>
>>> On Thu, 24 Aug 2017 12:50:20 -0500, Matthew Weber wrote:
>>>
>>>> > Unfortunately, simicsfs is no longer available at
>>>> > http://download.simics.net/pub/simicsfs-1.18.tar.gz, where Buildroot
>>>> > currently downloads it. The build only succeeds because we have a
>>>> > backup of this tarball at http://sources.buildroot.net.
>>>>
>>>> The project I originally did the 1.18 integration on completed ~2yrs
>>>> back and my access to WindRiver Simics material is now gone.  It's too
>>>> bad they didn't keep this driver public, however you may check with
>>>> your WindRiver Simics contacts to see if they just moved the site and
>>>> you could propose an update to this Buildroot package fixing support.
>>>
>>> To be honest, since the source code is no longer available online, I'm
>>> not sure it's really worth keeping this package in Buildroot. Let's see
>>> if Bin gets some feedback from Windriver about putting the tarball back
>>> online, publicly available. If there is no feedback, we'll drop the
>>> package I believe.
>>>
>>
>> Agree, that would make sense.
>>
>
> Thanks for all your clarifications and suggestions. I did not see this
> is an issue of buildroot. Actually I tried the
> http://download.simics.net/ link looking for a newer version but
> failed so I posted this question in case some others know how. I will
> contact Wind River Simics guys for some updates.
>

I've got feedback from Simics guys regarding to simicsfs. Here is the situation:

The latest simicsfs kernel module (v1.22) supports latest kernel, and
is available in the simics open source package. However they are
moving away from the simicsfs kernel module, replacing it with the
user mode Simics Agent (Matic). They've seen that the kernel module
has required too much maintenance work. For this reason they don't
want to encourage use of it.

Regards,
Bin

[Buildroot] simicsfs 1.18 does not build with kernel 4.12.2

[Thomas Petazzoni]

Hello,

On Tue, 29 Aug 2017 22:26:59 +0800, Bin Meng wrote:

> The latest simicsfs kernel module (v1.22) supports latest kernel, and
> is available in the simics open source package.

Is this "simics open source package" publicly available ?

> However they are moving away from the simicsfs kernel module,
> replacing it with the user mode Simics Agent (Matic). They've seen
> that the kernel module has required too much maintenance work. For
> this reason they don't want to encourage use of it.

So, we want to get rid of the simicsfs package in Buildroot ?

Thomas
-- 
Thomas Petazzoni, CTO, Free Electrons
Embedded Linux and Kernel engineering
http://free-electrons.com

[Buildroot] simicsfs 1.18 does not build with kernel 4.12.2

[Bin Meng]

Hi Thomas,

On Tue, Aug 29, 2017 at 11:37 PM, Thomas Petazzoni
<thomas.petazzoni@free-electrons.com> wrote:
> Hello,
>
> On Tue, 29 Aug 2017 22:26:59 +0800, Bin Meng wrote:
>
>> The latest simicsfs kernel module (v1.22) supports latest kernel, and
>> is available in the simics open source package.
>
> Is this "simics open source package" publicly available ?
>

Looks no.

>> However they are moving away from the simicsfs kernel module,
>> replacing it with the user mode Simics Agent (Matic). They've seen
>> that the kernel module has required too much maintenance work. For
>> this reason they don't want to encourage use of it.
>
> So, we want to get rid of the simicsfs package in Buildroot ?
>

I think so. Since they do not want new users of SimicsFS I don't think
we want buildroot to automatically include it. Users should move to
the Simics Agent instead. Otherwise they will be stuck supporting
SimicsFS.

Regards,
Bin

[Buildroot] simicsfs 1.18 does not build with kernel 4.12.2

[Thomas Petazzoni]

Hello,

On Wed, 30 Aug 2017 17:25:51 +0800, Bin Meng wrote:

> >> However they are moving away from the simicsfs kernel module,
> >> replacing it with the user mode Simics Agent (Matic). They've seen
> >> that the kernel module has required too much maintenance work. For
> >> this reason they don't want to encourage use of it.  
> >
> > So, we want to get rid of the simicsfs package in Buildroot ?
> 
> I think so. Since they do not want new users of SimicsFS I don't think
> we want buildroot to automatically include it. Users should move to
> the Simics Agent instead. Otherwise they will be stuck supporting
> SimicsFS.

OK. Could you send a patch dropping the Buildroot package? Don't forget
to add the relevant logic in Config.in.legacy, and the entry in the
DEVELOPERS file.

Thanks!

Thomas
-- 
Thomas Petazzoni, CTO, Free Electrons
Embedded Linux and Kernel engineering
http://free-electrons.com