The objection is the tiniest bug-fix windows get everything but the kitchen sink.
These are both uncomfortable positions to occupy, without doubt.
And the whole reason for a filesystem's existence is to store and maintain your data, so if that is what the patch if for, yes, it should be under consideration as a hotfix.
There's also the broader context: it's a major problem for stabilization if we can't properly support the people using it so they can keep testing.
More context: the kernel as a whole is based on fixed time tables and code review, which it needs because QA (especially automated testing) is extremely spotty. bcachefs's QA, both automated testing and community testing, is extremely good, and we've had bugfix patchsets either held up or turn into flamewars because of this mismatch entirely too many times.
>negative effects on the rest of the kernel
Needing to design and support an API is not purely negative for kernel developers. It also gives a change to have a proper interface for drivers to use and follow. Take a look at the Rust for Linux which keeps running into undocumented APIs that make little sense and are just whatever <insert most popular driver> does.
We already have that, with the "don't break userspace" policy combined with all of the modules being in-tree.
> Needing to design and support an API is not purely negative for kernel developers.
Sure, it's not purely negative, but it's overall a big net negative.
> Take a look at the Rust for Linux which keeps running into undocumented APIs that make little sense and are just whatever <insert most popular driver> does.
That's an argument against a stable module API! Those things are getting fixed as they get found, but if we had a stable module API, we'd be stuck with them forever.
I recommend reading https://docs.kernel.org/process/stable-api-nonsense.html
Bcachefs is not user space.
>with all of the modules being in-tree.
That is not true. There are out of tree modules such as ZFS.
>That's an argument against a stable module API!
My point was that there was 0 thought put into creating a good API. Additionally API could be evolved over time and have a support period if you care about being able to evolve it and deprecate the old one. And likely even with a better interface there is probably a way to make the old API still function.
bcachefs is still in-tree.
> That is not true. There are out of tree modules such as ZFS.
ZFS could be in-tree in no time at all if Oracle would fix its license. And until they do that, it's not safe to use ZFS-on-Linux anyway, since Oracle could sue you for it.
> My point was that there was 0 thought put into creating a good API.
There is thought put into it: it's exactly what we need right now, because if what we need ever changes, we'll change the API too, thus avoiding YAGNI and similar problems.
> Additionally API could be evolved over time and have a support period if you care about being able to evolve it.
If a temporary "support period" is what you want, then just use the LTS kernels. That's already exactly what they give you.
> And likely even with a better interface there is probably a way to make the old API still function.
That's the big net negative I was mentioning and that https://docs.kernel.org/process/stable-api-nonsense.html talks about too. Sometimes there isn't a feasible way to support part of an old API anymore, and it's not worth holding the whole kernel back just for the out-of-tree modules.
IANAL, but I don't believe either of these things are true.
OpenZFS contains enough code not authored by Sun/Oracle that relicensing it now is effectively impossible.
OTOH, it is under the CDDL, which is a perfectly good open source license; AFAICT the problem, if one exists at all[0], only manifests when distributing the combination of CDDL (OpenZFS) and GPL (Linux) software. If you download CDDL software and compile it into GPL software yourself (say, with DKMS) then it should be fine because you aren't distributing it.
[0] This is a case where I'm going to really emphasize that I'm really not a lawyer and merely point out that ex. Canonical's lawyers do seem to think CDDL+GPL is okay.
>FreeBSD (which is often invoked in these complaints) would have amdgpu for example.
In such a hypothetical FreeBSD could reimplement the stable API of Linux.
Like it does with the userland API of Linux, which is stable:
I worked for HP on storage drivers for a decade or so, and had their been a stable ABI, HP would have shipped proprietary storage drivers for everything. Even without a stable ABI, they shipped proprietary drivers at considerable effort, compiling for myriad different distro kernels. It was a nightmare, and good thing too, or there wouldn't be any open source drivers.
There is absolutely no good reason not to share driver source though so that's a terrible use case to optimize for.
However, Kent, if you read this: please just settle down and follow the rules. Quit deliberately antagonizing Linus. The constant drama is incredibly offputting. Don't jeopardize the entire future of bcachefs over the silliest and most temporary concerns.
If you absolutely must argue about some rule or other, then make that argument without having your opening move be to blatantly violate them and then complain when people call you out.
You were the one who wanted into the kernel despite many suggestions that it was too early. That comes with tradeoffs. You need to figure out how to live with that, at least for a year or two. Stop making your self-imposed problems everyone else's problems.
And I encourage anyone who wants to contribute to join the IRC channel. It's not a one man show, I work with a lot of people there.
The filesystem should do files, if you want something more complex do it in userspace. We even have FUSE if you want to use the Filesystem API with your crazy network database thing.
The extended (not extant) family (including ext4) don't support copy-on-write. Using them as your primary FS after 2020 (or even 2010) is like using a non-journaling file system after 2010 (or even 2001)--it's a non-negotiable feature at this point. Btrfs has been stable for a decade, and if you don't like or trust it, there's always ZFS, which has been stable 20 years now. Apple now has AppFS, with CoW, on all their devices, while MSFT still treats ReFS as unstable, and Windows servers still rely heavily on NTFS.
They seem to be slowly introducing it to the masses, Dev drives you set up on Windows automatically use ReFS
Kent is in the wrong. Having a lead position in development I would kick Kent of the team.
One thing is to challenge things. What Kent is doing is something completely different. It is obvious he introduced a feature, not only a Bugfix.
If the rules are set in a way that rc1+ gets only Bugfixes, then this is absolutely clear what happens with the feature. Tolerating this once or twice is ok, but Kent is doing this all the time, testing Linus.
Linus is absolutely in the right to kick this out and it's Kent's fault if he does so.
A way to handle this would be with one person (or more) in between Kent and Linus. And maybe a separate tree only for changes and fixes from bcachefs that those people in between would forward to Linus. A staging of sorts.
guerrilla•2h ago
mschuster91•1h ago
tpolzer•1h ago
While you should have a backup of your data anyway.
quotemstr•1h ago
kzrdude•55m ago
msgodel•55m ago
Opens LKML archive hoping for another Linus rant.
rendaw•11m ago