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diff --git a/Documentation/process/7.AdvancedTopics.rst b/Documentation/process/7.AdvancedTopics.rst new file mode 100644 index 0000000000..bf7cbfb4ca --- /dev/null +++ b/Documentation/process/7.AdvancedTopics.rst @@ -0,0 +1,178 @@ +.. _development_advancedtopics: + +Advanced topics +=============== + +At this point, hopefully, you have a handle on how the development process +works. There is still more to learn, however! This section will cover a +number of topics which can be helpful for developers wanting to become a +regular part of the Linux kernel development process. + +Managing patches with git +------------------------- + +The use of distributed version control for the kernel began in early 2002, +when Linus first started playing with the proprietary BitKeeper +application. While BitKeeper was controversial, the approach to software +version management it embodied most certainly was not. Distributed version +control enabled an immediate acceleration of the kernel development +project. In current times, there are several free alternatives to +BitKeeper. For better or for worse, the kernel project has settled on git +as its tool of choice. + +Managing patches with git can make life much easier for the developer, +especially as the volume of those patches grows. Git also has its rough +edges and poses certain hazards; it is a young and powerful tool which is +still being civilized by its developers. This document will not attempt to +teach the reader how to use git; that would be sufficient material for a +long document in its own right. Instead, the focus here will be on how git +fits into the kernel development process in particular. Developers who +wish to come up to speed with git will find more information at: + + https://git-scm.com/ + + https://www.kernel.org/pub/software/scm/git/docs/user-manual.html + +and on various tutorials found on the web. + +The first order of business is to read the above sites and get a solid +understanding of how git works before trying to use it to make patches +available to others. A git-using developer should be able to obtain a copy +of the mainline repository, explore the revision history, commit changes to +the tree, use branches, etc. An understanding of git's tools for the +rewriting of history (such as rebase) is also useful. Git comes with its +own terminology and concepts; a new user of git should know about refs, +remote branches, the index, fast-forward merges, pushes and pulls, detached +heads, etc. It can all be a little intimidating at the outset, but the +concepts are not that hard to grasp with a bit of study. + +Using git to generate patches for submission by email can be a good +exercise while coming up to speed. + +When you are ready to start putting up git trees for others to look at, you +will, of course, need a server that can be pulled from. Setting up such a +server with git-daemon is relatively straightforward if you have a system +which is accessible to the Internet. Otherwise, free, public hosting sites +(Github, for example) are starting to appear on the net. Established +developers can get an account on kernel.org, but those are not easy to come +by; see https://kernel.org/faq/ for more information. + +The normal git workflow involves the use of a lot of branches. Each line +of development can be separated into a separate "topic branch" and +maintained independently. Branches in git are cheap, there is no reason to +not make free use of them. And, in any case, you should not do your +development in any branch which you intend to ask others to pull from. +Publicly-available branches should be created with care; merge in patches +from development branches when they are in complete form and ready to go - +not before. + +Git provides some powerful tools which can allow you to rewrite your +development history. An inconvenient patch (one which breaks bisection, +say, or which has some other sort of obvious bug) can be fixed in place or +made to disappear from the history entirely. A patch series can be +rewritten as if it had been written on top of today's mainline, even though +you have been working on it for months. Changes can be transparently +shifted from one branch to another. And so on. Judicious use of git's +ability to revise history can help in the creation of clean patch sets with +fewer problems. + +Excessive use of this capability can lead to other problems, though, beyond +a simple obsession for the creation of the perfect project history. +Rewriting history will rewrite the changes contained in that history, +turning a tested (hopefully) kernel tree into an untested one. But, beyond +that, developers cannot easily collaborate if they do not have a shared +view of the project history; if you rewrite history which other developers +have pulled into their repositories, you will make life much more difficult +for those developers. So a simple rule of thumb applies here: history +which has been exported to others should generally be seen as immutable +thereafter. + +So, once you push a set of changes to your publicly-available server, those +changes should not be rewritten. Git will attempt to enforce this rule if +you try to push changes which do not result in a fast-forward merge +(i.e. changes which do not share the same history). It is possible to +override this check, and there may be times when it is necessary to rewrite +an exported tree. Moving changesets between trees to avoid conflicts in +linux-next is one example. But such actions should be rare. This is one +of the reasons why development should be done in private branches (which +can be rewritten if necessary) and only moved into public branches when +it's in a reasonably advanced state. + +As the mainline (or other tree upon which a set of changes is based) +advances, it is tempting to merge with that tree to stay on the leading +edge. For a private branch, rebasing can be an easy way to keep up with +another tree, but rebasing is not an option once a tree is exported to the +world. Once that happens, a full merge must be done. Merging occasionally +makes good sense, but overly frequent merges can clutter the history +needlessly. Suggested technique in this case is to merge infrequently, and +generally only at specific release points (such as a mainline -rc +release). If you are nervous about specific changes, you can always +perform test merges in a private branch. The git "rerere" tool can be +useful in such situations; it remembers how merge conflicts were resolved +so that you don't have to do the same work twice. + +One of the biggest recurring complaints about tools like git is this: the +mass movement of patches from one repository to another makes it easy to +slip in ill-advised changes which go into the mainline below the review +radar. Kernel developers tend to get unhappy when they see that kind of +thing happening; putting up a git tree with unreviewed or off-topic patches +can affect your ability to get trees pulled in the future. Quoting Linus: + +:: + + You can send me patches, but for me to pull a git patch from you, I + need to know that you know what you're doing, and I need to be able + to trust things *without* then having to go and check every + individual change by hand. + +(https://lwn.net/Articles/224135/). + +To avoid this kind of situation, ensure that all patches within a given +branch stick closely to the associated topic; a "driver fixes" branch +should not be making changes to the core memory management code. And, most +importantly, do not use a git tree to bypass the review process. Post an +occasional summary of the tree to the relevant list, and, when the time is +right, request that the tree be included in linux-next. + +If and when others start to send patches for inclusion into your tree, +don't forget to review them. Also ensure that you maintain the correct +authorship information; the git "am" tool does its best in this regard, but +you may have to add a "From:" line to the patch if it has been relayed to +you via a third party. + +When requesting a pull, be sure to give all the relevant information: where +your tree is, what branch to pull, and what changes will result from the +pull. The git request-pull command can be helpful in this regard; it will +format the request as other developers expect, and will also check to be +sure that you have remembered to push those changes to the public server. + + +Reviewing patches +----------------- + +Some readers will certainly object to putting this section with "advanced +topics" on the grounds that even beginning kernel developers should be +reviewing patches. It is certainly true that there is no better way to +learn how to program in the kernel environment than by looking at code +posted by others. In addition, reviewers are forever in short supply; by +looking at code you can make a significant contribution to the process as a +whole. + +Reviewing code can be an intimidating prospect, especially for a new kernel +developer who may well feel nervous about questioning code - in public - +which has been posted by those with more experience. Even code written by +the most experienced developers can be improved, though. Perhaps the best +piece of advice for reviewers (all reviewers) is this: phrase review +comments as questions rather than criticisms. Asking "how does the lock +get released in this path?" will always work better than stating "the +locking here is wrong." + +Different developers will review code from different points of view. Some +are mostly concerned with coding style and whether code lines have trailing +white space. Others will focus primarily on whether the change implemented +by the patch as a whole is a good thing for the kernel or not. Yet others +will check for problematic locking, excessive stack usage, possible +security issues, duplication of code found elsewhere, adequate +documentation, adverse effects on performance, user-space ABI changes, etc. +All types of review, if they lead to better code going into the kernel, are +welcome and worthwhile. |