Subject: Re: README: VFS change, breakings LKMs
To: Oleg Polyanski <luke@eed.miee.ru>
From: Bill Studenmund <wrstuden@nas.nasa.gov>
List: current-users
Date: 03/16/2000 16:25:12
On 17 Mar 2000, Oleg Polyanski wrote:
> So why not introduce LKM versioning scheme that by default will
> prevent from loading LKMs with incompatible kernel interface? And
> extend `modload' functionality, for example, with `-f' option that
> will force loading on your own risk.. I think it would greatly reduce
> amount of unexpected kernel crashes.
Well, the thought until now has been that if you use lkm's, you need to
know what you're doing.
Changing the lkm interface to have some sort of kernel version code
encoded in the lkm would not be hard. Just no one's been interested in it.
> But I see the problem here: how will different LKMs co-exist. I think
> they should co-exists because software vendors can not follow the
> kernel development and update their code so fast. Something like LKM
> wrapper would be a solution. For example, OSS has such wrapper for
> Linux sound drivers due to Linux interfaces change rapidly.
I gather you meant different LKM versions? Different LKM's co-exist fine.
:-)
What you're wanting to do is to let an LKM work with a kernel version it
was not designed for. That is, in general, not an easy thing to do.
Take care,
Bill