The patch titled
sysfs-rules.txt: reword API stability statement
has been added to the -mm tree. Its filename is
sysfs-rulestxt-reword-api-stability-statement.patch
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Subject: sysfs-rules.txt: reword API stability statement
From: Nathan Lynch <ntl@xxxxxxxxx>
The first paragraph of this document implies that user space developers
shouldn't use sysfs at all, but then it goes on to describe rules that
developers should follow when accessing sysfs. Not only is this somewhat
self-contradictory, it has been shown to discourage developers from using
established sysfs interfaces.
A note of caution is more appropriate than a blanket "sysfs will never
be stable" assertion.
Signed-off-by: Nathan Lynch <ntl@xxxxxxxxx>
Cc: Greg KH <greg@xxxxxxxxx>
Cc: Stephen Rothwell <sfr@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Signed-off-by: Andrew Morton <akpm@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
---
Documentation/sysfs-rules.txt | 5 ++---
1 file changed, 2 insertions(+), 3 deletions(-)
diff -puN Documentation/sysfs-rules.txt~sysfs-rulestxt-reword-api-stability-statement Documentation/sysfs-rules.txt
--- a/Documentation/sysfs-rules.txt~sysfs-rulestxt-reword-api-stability-statement
+++ a/Documentation/sysfs-rules.txt
@@ -3,9 +3,8 @@ Rules on how to access information in th
The kernel-exported sysfs exports internal kernel implementation details
and depends on internal kernel structures and layout. It is agreed upon
by the kernel developers that the Linux kernel does not provide a stable
-internal API. As sysfs is a direct export of kernel internal
-structures, the sysfs interface cannot provide a stable interface either;
-it may always change along with internal kernel changes.
+internal API. Therefore, there are aspects of the sysfs interface that
+may not be stable across kernel releases.
To minimize the risk of breaking users of sysfs, which are in most cases
low-level userspace applications, with a new kernel release, the users
_
Patches currently in -mm which might be from ntl@xxxxxxxxx are
sysfs-rulestxt-reword-api-stability-statement.patch
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