From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Return-Path: X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.4.0 (2014-02-07) on aws-us-west-2-korg-lkml-1.web.codeaurora.org X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-3.8 required=3.0 tests=BAYES_00, HEADER_FROM_DIFFERENT_DOMAINS,MAILING_LIST_MULTI,SPF_HELO_NONE,SPF_PASS autolearn=no autolearn_force=no version=3.4.0 Received: from mail.kernel.org (mail.kernel.org [198.145.29.99]) by smtp.lore.kernel.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id E3DE8C43460 for ; Wed, 28 Apr 2021 14:13:44 +0000 (UTC) Received: from vger.kernel.org (vger.kernel.org [23.128.96.18]) by mail.kernel.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id A1D5F61424 for ; Wed, 28 Apr 2021 14:13:44 +0000 (UTC) Received: (majordomo@vger.kernel.org) by vger.kernel.org via listexpand id S240180AbhD1OO1 (ORCPT ); Wed, 28 Apr 2021 10:14:27 -0400 Received: from outgoing-auth-1.mit.edu ([18.9.28.11]:36931 "EHLO outgoing.mit.edu" rhost-flags-OK-OK-OK-FAIL) by vger.kernel.org with ESMTP id S229807AbhD1OO0 (ORCPT ); Wed, 28 Apr 2021 10:14:26 -0400 Received: from cwcc.thunk.org (pool-72-74-133-215.bstnma.fios.verizon.net [72.74.133.215]) (authenticated bits=0) (User authenticated as tytso@ATHENA.MIT.EDU) by outgoing.mit.edu (8.14.7/8.12.4) with ESMTP id 13SECx3x023455 (version=TLSv1/SSLv3 cipher=DHE-RSA-AES256-GCM-SHA384 bits=256 verify=NOT); Wed, 28 Apr 2021 10:13:00 -0400 Received: by cwcc.thunk.org (Postfix, from userid 15806) id A932815C3C3D; Wed, 28 Apr 2021 10:12:59 -0400 (EDT) Date: Wed, 28 Apr 2021 10:12:59 -0400 From: "Theodore Ts'o" To: Gabriel Krisman Bertazi Cc: Shreeya Patel , Christoph Hellwig , adilger.kernel@dilger.ca, jaegeuk@kernel.org, chao@kernel.org, ebiggers@google.com, drosen@google.com, ebiggers@kernel.org, yuchao0@huawei.com, linux-ext4@vger.kernel.org, linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org, linux-f2fs-devel@lists.sourceforge.net, linux-fsdevel@vger.kernel.org, kernel@collabora.com, andre.almeida@collabora.com Subject: Re: [PATCH v8 4/4] fs: unicode: Add utf8 module and a unicode layer Message-ID: References: <20210423205136.1015456-1-shreeya.patel@collabora.com> <20210423205136.1015456-5-shreeya.patel@collabora.com> <20210427062907.GA1564326@infradead.org> <61d85255-d23e-7016-7fb5-7ab0a6b4b39f@collabora.com> <87bl9z937q.fsf@collabora.com> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Disposition: inline In-Reply-To: <87bl9z937q.fsf@collabora.com> Precedence: bulk List-ID: X-Mailing-List: linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org On Tue, Apr 27, 2021 at 11:06:33AM -0400, Gabriel Krisman Bertazi wrote: > > I think the better argument to make is just one of simplicity; > > separating the Unicode data table from the kernel adds complexity. It > > also reduces flexibility, since for use cases where it's actually > > _preferable_ to have Unicode functionality permanently built-in the > > kernel, we now force the use of some kind of initial ramdisk to load a > > module before the root file system (which might require Unicode > > support) could even be mounted. > > FWIW, embedding FW images to the kernel is also well supported. Making > the data trie a firmware doesn't make a ramdisk more of a requirement > than the module solution, I think. I don't think we support building firmware directly into the kernel any more. We used to, but IIRC, there was the feeling that 99.99% of the time, firmware modules were not GPL compliant, and so we ripped out that support. So my point was with the module support, it's *optional* that it be compiled as a module, which is convenient for those use cases, such as for example a mobile handset --- where there is no need for modules since the hardware doesn't change, and so modules and an initrd is just unnecessary complexity --- and firmware, which would make an initial ramdisk mandatory if you wanted to use the casefold feature. Put another way, the only reason why putting the unicode tables in a module is to make life easier for desktop distros. For mobile handsets, modules are an anti-feature, which is why there was no call for supporting this initially, given the initial use case for the casefold feature. Cheers, - Ted