···1010with "the system." This text is a collection of suggestions which1111can greatly increase the chances of your change being accepted.12121313-Read Documentation/SubmitChecklist for a list of items to check1414-before submitting code. If you are submitting a driver, also read1515-Documentation/SubmittingDrivers.1313+This document contains a large number of suggestions in a relatively terse1414+format. For detailed information on how the kernel development process1515+works, see Documentation/development-process. Also, read1616+Documentation/SubmitChecklist for a list of items to check before1717+submitting code. If you are submitting a driver, also read1818+Documentation/SubmittingDrivers; for device tree binding patches, read1919+Documentation/devicetree/bindings/submitting-patches.txt.16201721Many of these steps describe the default behavior of the git version1822control system; if you use git to prepare your patches, you'll find much1923of the mechanical work done for you, though you'll still need to prepare2020-and document a sensible set of patches.2424+and document a sensible set of patches. In general, use of git will make2525+your life as a kernel developer easier.21262227--------------------------------------------2328SECTION 1 - CREATING AND SENDING YOUR CHANGE2429--------------------------------------------253026313232+0) Obtain a current source tree3333+-------------------------------3434+3535+If you do not have a repository with the current kernel source handy, use3636+git to obtain one. You'll want to start with the mainline repository,3737+which can be grabbed with:3838+3939+ git clone git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git 4040+4141+Note, however, that you may not want to develop against the mainline tree4242+directly. Most subsystem maintainers run their own trees and want to see4343+patches prepared against those trees. See the "T:" entry for the subsystem4444+in the MAINTAINERS file to find that tree, or simply ask the maintainer if4545+the tree is not listed there.4646+4747+It is still possible to download kernel releases via tarballs (as described4848+in the next section), but that is the hard way to do kernel development.274928501) "diff -up"2951------------30523131-Use "diff -up" or "diff -uprN" to create patches. git generates patches3232-in this form by default; if you're using git, you can skip this section3333-entirely.5353+If you must generate your patches by hand, use "diff -up" or "diff -uprN"5454+to create patches. Git generates patches in this form by default; if5555+you're using git, you can skip this section entirely.34563557All changes to the Linux kernel occur in the form of patches, as3658generated by diff(1). When creating your patch, make sure to create it···64426543To create a patch for a single file, it is often sufficient to do:66446767- SRCTREE= linux-2.64545+ SRCTREE= linux6846 MYFILE= drivers/net/mydriver.c69477048 cd $SRCTREE···7755or unmodified kernel source tree, and generate a diff against your7856own source tree. For example:79578080- MYSRC= /devel/linux-2.65858+ MYSRC= /devel/linux81598282- tar xvfz linux-2.6.12.tar.gz8383- mv linux-2.6.12 linux-2.6.12-vanilla8484- diff -uprN -X linux-2.6.12-vanilla/Documentation/dontdiff \8585- linux-2.6.12-vanilla $MYSRC > /tmp/patch6060+ tar xvfz linux-3.19.tar.gz6161+ mv linux-3.19 linux-3.19-vanilla6262+ diff -uprN -X linux-3.19-vanilla/Documentation/dontdiff \6363+ linux-3.19-vanilla $MYSRC > /tmp/patch86648765"dontdiff" is a list of files which are generated by the kernel during8866the build process, and should be ignored in any diff(1)-generated8989-patch. The "dontdiff" file is included in the kernel tree in9090-2.6.12 and later.6767+patch.91689269Make sure your patch does not include any extra files which do not9370belong in a patch submission. Make sure to review your patch -after-···1048310584106852) Describe your changes.8686+-------------------------1078710888Describe your problem. Whether your patch is a one-line bug fix or109895000 lines of a new feature, there must be an underlying problem that···146124When you submit or resubmit a patch or patch series, include the147125complete patch description and justification for it. Don't just148126say that this is version N of the patch (series). Don't expect the149149-patch merger to refer back to earlier patch versions or referenced127127+subsystem maintainer to refer back to earlier patch versions or referenced150128URLs to find the patch description and put that into the patch.151129I.e., the patch (series) and its description should be self-contained.152152-This benefits both the patch merger(s) and reviewers. Some reviewers130130+This benefits both the maintainers and reviewers. Some reviewers153131probably didn't even receive earlier versions of the patch.154132155133Describe your changes in imperative mood, e.g. "make xyzzy do frotz"···178156 platform_set_drvdata(), but left the variable "dev" unused,179157 delete it.180158159159+You should also be sure to use at least the first twelve characters of the160160+SHA-1 ID. The kernel repository holds a *lot* of objects, making161161+collisions with shorter IDs a real possibility. Bear in mind that, even if162162+there is no collision with your six-character ID now, that condition may163163+change five years from now.164164+181165If your patch fixes a bug in a specific commit, e.g. you found an issue using182166git-bisect, please use the 'Fixes:' tag with the first 12 characters of the183183-SHA-1 ID, and the one line summary.184184-Example:167167+SHA-1 ID, and the one line summary. For example:185168186169 Fixes: e21d2170f366 ("video: remove unnecessary platform_set_drvdata()")187170···199172 fixes = Fixes: %h (\"%s\")2001732011743) Separate your changes.175175+-------------------------202176203203-Separate _logical changes_ into a single patch file.177177+Separate each _logical change_ into a separate patch.204178205179For example, if your changes include both bug fixes and performance206180enhancements for a single driver, separate those changes into two···212184group those changes into a single patch. Thus a single logical change213185is contained within a single patch.214186187187+The point to remember is that each patch should make an easily understood188188+change that can be verified by reviewers. Each patch should be justifiable189189+on its own merits.190190+215191If one patch depends on another patch in order for a change to be216192complete, that is OK. Simply note "this patch depends on patch X"217193in your patch description.194194+195195+When dividing your change into a series of patches, take special care to196196+ensure that the kernel builds and runs properly after each patch in the197197+series. Developers using "git bisect" to track down a problem can end up198198+splitting your patch series at any point; they will not thank you if you199199+introduce bugs in the middle.218200219201If you cannot condense your patch set into a smaller set of patches,220202then only post say 15 or so at a time and wait for review and integration.221203222204223205224224-4) Style check your changes.206206+4) Style-check your changes.207207+----------------------------225208226209Check your patch for basic style violations, details of which can be227210found in Documentation/CodingStyle. Failure to do so simply wastes228211the reviewers time and will get your patch rejected, probably229212without even being read.230213231231-At a minimum you should check your patches with the patch style232232-checker prior to submission (scripts/checkpatch.pl). You should233233-be able to justify all violations that remain in your patch.214214+One significant exception is when moving code from one file to215215+another -- in this case you should not modify the moved code at all in216216+the same patch which moves it. This clearly delineates the act of217217+moving the code and your changes. This greatly aids review of the218218+actual differences and allows tools to better track the history of219219+the code itself.220220+221221+Check your patches with the patch style checker prior to submission222222+(scripts/checkpatch.pl). Note, though, that the style checker should be223223+viewed as a guide, not as a replacement for human judgment. If your code224224+looks better with a violation then its probably best left alone.225225+226226+The checker reports at three levels:227227+ - ERROR: things that are very likely to be wrong228228+ - WARNING: things requiring careful review229229+ - CHECK: things requiring thought230230+231231+You should be able to justify all violations that remain in your232232+patch.234233235234235235+5) Select the recipients for your patch.236236+----------------------------------------236237237237-5) Select e-mail destination.238238+You should always copy the appropriate subsystem maintainer(s) on any patch239239+to code that they maintain; look through the MAINTAINERS file and the240240+source code revision history to see who those maintainers are. The241241+script scripts/get_maintainer.pl can be very useful at this step. If you242242+cannot find a maintainer for the subsystem your are working on, Andrew243243+Morton (akpm@linux-foundation.org) serves as a maintainer of last resort.238244239239-Look through the MAINTAINERS file and the source code, and determine240240-if your change applies to a specific subsystem of the kernel, with241241-an assigned maintainer. If so, e-mail that person. The script242242-scripts/get_maintainer.pl can be very useful at this step.245245+You should also normally choose at least one mailing list to receive a copy246246+of your patch set. linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org functions as a list of247247+last resort, but the volume on that list has caused a number of developers248248+to tune it out. Look in the MAINTAINERS file for a subsystem-specific249249+list; your patch will probably get more attention there. Please do not250250+spam unrelated lists, though.243251244244-If no maintainer is listed, or the maintainer does not respond, send245245-your patch to the primary Linux kernel developer's mailing list,246246-linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org. Most kernel developers monitor this247247-e-mail list, and can comment on your changes.248248-252252+Many kernel-related lists are hosted on vger.kernel.org; you can find a253253+list of them at http://vger.kernel.org/vger-lists.html. There are254254+kernel-related lists hosted elsewhere as well, though.249255250256Do not send more than 15 patches at once to the vger mailing lists!!!251257252252-253258Linus Torvalds is the final arbiter of all changes accepted into the254259Linux kernel. His e-mail address is <torvalds@linux-foundation.org>.255255-He gets a lot of e-mail, so typically you should do your best to -avoid-260260+He gets a lot of e-mail, and, at this point, very few patches go through261261+Linus directly, so typically you should do your best to -avoid-256262sending him e-mail.257263258258-Patches which are bug fixes, are "obvious" changes, or similarly259259-require little discussion should be sent or CC'd to Linus. Patches260260-which require discussion or do not have a clear advantage should261261-usually be sent first to linux-kernel. Only after the patch is262262-discussed should the patch then be submitted to Linus.264264+If you have a patch that fixes an exploitable security bug, send that patch265265+to security@kernel.org. For severe bugs, a short embargo may be considered266266+to allow distrbutors to get the patch out to users; in such cases,267267+obviously, the patch should not be sent to any public lists.263268269269+Patches that fix a severe bug in a released kernel should be directed270270+toward the stable maintainers by putting a line like this:264271272272+ Cc: stable@vger.kernel.org265273266266-6) Select your CC (e-mail carbon copy) list.274274+into your patch.267275268268-Unless you have a reason NOT to do so, CC linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org.276276+Note, however, that some subsystem maintainers want to come to their own277277+conclusions on which patches should go to the stable trees. The networking278278+maintainer, in particular, would rather not see individual developers279279+adding lines like the above to their patches.269280270270-Other kernel developers besides Linus need to be aware of your change,271271-so that they may comment on it and offer code review and suggestions.272272-linux-kernel is the primary Linux kernel developer mailing list.273273-Other mailing lists are available for specific subsystems, such as274274-USB, framebuffer devices, the VFS, the SCSI subsystem, etc. See the275275-MAINTAINERS file for a mailing list that relates specifically to276276-your change.277277-278278-Majordomo lists of VGER.KERNEL.ORG at:279279- <http://vger.kernel.org/vger-lists.html>280280-281281-If changes affect userland-kernel interfaces, please send282282-the MAN-PAGES maintainer (as listed in the MAINTAINERS file)283283-a man-pages patch, or at least a notification of the change,284284-so that some information makes its way into the manual pages.285285-286286-Even if the maintainer did not respond in step #5, make sure to ALWAYS287287-copy the maintainer when you change their code.281281+If changes affect userland-kernel interfaces, please send the MAN-PAGES282282+maintainer (as listed in the MAINTAINERS file) a man-pages patch, or at283283+least a notification of the change, so that some information makes its way284284+into the manual pages. User-space API changes should also be copied to285285+linux-api@vger.kernel.org. 288286289287For small patches you may want to CC the Trivial Patch Monkey290288trivial@kernel.org which collects "trivial" patches. Have a look291289into the MAINTAINERS file for its current manager.292290Trivial patches must qualify for one of the following rules:293291 Spelling fixes in documentation294294- Spelling fixes which could break grep(1)292292+ Spelling fixes for errors which could break grep(1)295293 Warning fixes (cluttering with useless warnings is bad)296294 Compilation fixes (only if they are actually correct)297295 Runtime fixes (only if they actually fix things)298298- Removing use of deprecated functions/macros (eg. check_region)296296+ Removing use of deprecated functions/macros299297 Contact detail and documentation fixes300298 Non-portable code replaced by portable code (even in arch-specific,301299 since people copy, as long as it's trivial)···330276331277332278333333-7) No MIME, no links, no compression, no attachments. Just plain text.279279+6) No MIME, no links, no compression, no attachments. Just plain text.280280+-----------------------------------------------------------------------334281335282Linus and other kernel developers need to be able to read and comment336283on the changes you are submitting. It is important for a kernel···354299See Documentation/email-clients.txt for hints about configuring355300your e-mail client so that it sends your patches untouched.356301357357-8) E-mail size.358358-359359-When sending patches to Linus, always follow step #7.302302+7) E-mail size.303303+---------------360304361305Large changes are not appropriate for mailing lists, and some362306maintainers. If your patch, uncompressed, exceeds 300 kB in size,363307it is preferred that you store your patch on an Internet-accessible364364-server, and provide instead a URL (link) pointing to your patch.308308+server, and provide instead a URL (link) pointing to your patch. But note309309+that if your patch exceeds 300 kB, it almost certainly needs to be broken up310310+anyway.311311+312312+8) Respond to review comments.313313+------------------------------314314+315315+Your patch will almost certainly get comments from reviewers on ways in316316+which the patch can be improved. You must respond to those comments;317317+ignoring reviewers is a good way to get ignored in return. Review comments318318+or questions that do not lead to a code change should almost certainly319319+bring about a comment or changelog entry so that the next reviewer better320320+understands what is going on.321321+322322+Be sure to tell the reviewers what changes you are making and to thank them323323+for their time. Code review is a tiring and time-consuming process, and324324+reviewers sometimes get grumpy. Even in that case, though, respond325325+politely and address the problems they have pointed out.365326366327328328+9) Don't get discouraged - or impatient.329329+----------------------------------------367330368368-9) Name your kernel version.331331+After you have submitted your change, be patient and wait. Reviewers are332332+busy people and may not get to your patch right away.369333370370-It is important to note, either in the subject line or in the patch371371-description, the kernel version to which this patch applies.372372-373373-If the patch does not apply cleanly to the latest kernel version,374374-Linus will not apply it.375375-376376-377377-378378-10) Don't get discouraged. Re-submit.379379-380380-After you have submitted your change, be patient and wait. If Linus381381-likes your change and applies it, it will appear in the next version382382-of the kernel that he releases.383383-384384-However, if your change doesn't appear in the next version of the385385-kernel, there could be any number of reasons. It's YOUR job to386386-narrow down those reasons, correct what was wrong, and submit your387387-updated change.388388-389389-It is quite common for Linus to "drop" your patch without comment.390390-That's the nature of the system. If he drops your patch, it could be391391-due to392392-* Your patch did not apply cleanly to the latest kernel version.393393-* Your patch was not sufficiently discussed on linux-kernel.394394-* A style issue (see section 2).395395-* An e-mail formatting issue (re-read this section).396396-* A technical problem with your change.397397-* He gets tons of e-mail, and yours got lost in the shuffle.398398-* You are being annoying.399399-400400-When in doubt, solicit comments on linux-kernel mailing list.334334+Once upon a time, patches used to disappear into the void without comment,335335+but the development process works more smoothly than that now. You should336336+receive comments within a week or so; if that does not happen, make sure337337+that you have sent your patches to the right place. Wait for a minimum of338338+one week before resubmitting or pinging reviewers - possibly longer during339339+busy times like merge windows.401340402341403403-404404-11) Include PATCH in the subject342342+10) Include PATCH in the subject343343+--------------------------------405344406345Due to high e-mail traffic to Linus, and to linux-kernel, it is common407346convention to prefix your subject line with [PATCH]. This lets Linus···404355405356406357407407-12) Sign your work358358+11) Sign your work359359+------------------408360409361To improve tracking of who did what, especially with patches that can410362percolate to their final resting place in the kernel through several···479429Special note to back-porters: It seems to be a common and useful practice480430to insert an indication of the origin of a patch at the top of the commit481431message (just after the subject line) to facilitate tracking. For instance,482482-here's what we see in 2.6-stable :432432+here's what we see in a 3.x-stable release:483433484484- Date: Tue May 13 19:10:30 2008 +0000434434+Date: Tue Oct 7 07:26:38 2014 -0400485435486486- SCSI: libiscsi regression in 2.6.25: fix nop timer handling436436+ libata: Un-break ATA blacklist487437488488- commit 4cf1043593db6a337f10e006c23c69e5fc93e722 upstream438438+ commit 1c40279960bcd7d52dbdf1d466b20d24b99176c8 upstream.489439490490-And here's what appears in 2.4 :440440+And here's what might appear in an older kernel once a patch is backported:491441492442 Date: Tue May 13 22:12:27 2008 +0200493443···496446 [backport of 2.6 commit b7acbdfbd1f277c1eb23f344f899cfa4cd0bf36a]497447498448Whatever the format, this information provides a valuable help to people499499-tracking your trees, and to people trying to trouble-shoot bugs in your449449+tracking your trees, and to people trying to troubleshoot bugs in your500450tree.501451502452503503-13) When to use Acked-by: and Cc:453453+12) When to use Acked-by: and Cc:454454+---------------------------------504455505456The Signed-off-by: tag indicates that the signer was involved in the506457development of the patch, or that he/she was in the patch's delivery path.507458508459If a person was not directly involved in the preparation or handling of a509460patch but wishes to signify and record their approval of it then they can510510-arrange to have an Acked-by: line added to the patch's changelog.461461+ask to have an Acked-by: line added to the patch's changelog.511462512463Acked-by: is often used by the maintainer of the affected code when that513464maintainer neither contributed to nor forwarded the patch.···516465Acked-by: is not as formal as Signed-off-by:. It is a record that the acker517466has at least reviewed the patch and has indicated acceptance. Hence patch518467mergers will sometimes manually convert an acker's "yep, looks good to me"519519-into an Acked-by:.468468+into an Acked-by: (but note that it is usually better to ask for an469469+explicit ack).520470521471Acked-by: does not necessarily indicate acknowledgement of the entire patch.522472For example, if a patch affects multiple subsystems and has an Acked-by: from···529477If a person has had the opportunity to comment on a patch, but has not530478provided such comments, you may optionally add a "Cc:" tag to the patch.531479This is the only tag which might be added without an explicit action by the532532-person it names. This tag documents that potentially interested parties533533-have been included in the discussion480480+person it names - but it should indicate that this person was copied on the481481+patch. This tag documents that potentially interested parties482482+have been included in the discussion.534483535484536536-14) Using Reported-by:, Tested-by:, Reviewed-by:, Suggested-by: and Fixes:485485+13) Using Reported-by:, Tested-by:, Reviewed-by:, Suggested-by: and Fixes:486486+--------------------------------------------------------------------------537487538488The Reported-by tag gives credit to people who find bugs and report them and it539489hopefully inspires them to help us again in the future. Please note that if···595541method for indicating a bug fixed by the patch. See #2 above for more details.596542597543598598-15) The canonical patch format544544+14) The canonical patch format545545+------------------------------546546+547547+This section describes how the patch itself should be formatted. Note548548+that, if you have your patches stored in a git repository, proper patch549549+formatting can be had with "git format-patch". The tools cannot create550550+the necessary text, though, so read the instructions below anyway.599551600552The canonical patch subject line is:601553···609549610550The canonical patch message body contains the following:611551612612- - A "from" line specifying the patch author.552552+ - A "from" line specifying the patch author (only needed if the person553553+ sending the patch is not the author).613554614555 - An empty line.615556···717656references.718657719658720720-16) Sending "git pull" requests (from Linus emails)659659+15) Sending "git pull" requests660660+-------------------------------721661722722-Please write the git repo address and branch name alone on the same line723723-so that I can't even by mistake pull from the wrong branch, and so724724-that a triple-click just selects the whole thing.662662+If you have a series of patches, it may be most convenient to have the663663+maintainer pull them directly into the subsystem repository with a664664+"git pull" operation. Note, however, that pulling patches from a developer665665+requires a higher degree of trust than taking patches from a mailing list.666666+As a result, many subsystem maintainers are reluctant to take pull667667+requests, especially from new, unknown developers. If in doubt you can use668668+the pull request as the cover letter for a normal posting of the patch669669+series, giving the maintainer the option of using either.725670726726-So the proper format is something along the lines of:671671+A pull request should have [GIT] or [PULL] in the subject line. The672672+request itself should include the repository name and the branch of673673+interest on a single line; it should look something like:727674728728- "Please pull from675675+ Please pull from729676730730- git://jdelvare.pck.nerim.net/jdelvare-2.6 i2c-for-linus677677+ git://jdelvare.pck.nerim.net/jdelvare-2.6 i2c-for-linus731678732732- to get these changes:"679679+ to get these changes:"733680734734-so that I don't have to hunt-and-peck for the address and inevitably735735-get it wrong (actually, I've only gotten it wrong a few times, and736736-checking against the diffstat tells me when I get it wrong, but I'm737737-just a lot more comfortable when I don't have to "look for" the right738738-thing to pull, and double-check that I have the right branch-name).681681+A pull request should also include an overall message saying what will be682682+included in the request, a "git shortlog" listing of the patches683683+themselves, and a diffstat showing the overall effect of the patch series.684684+The easiest way to get all this information together is, of course, to let685685+git do it for you with the "git request-pull" command.739686687687+Some maintainers (including Linus) want to see pull requests from signed688688+commits; that increases their confidence that the request actually came689689+from you. Linus, in particular, will not pull from public hosting sites690690+like GitHub in the absence of a signed tag.740691741741-Please use "git diff -M --stat --summary" to generate the diffstat:742742-the -M enables rename detection, and the summary enables a summary of743743-new/deleted or renamed files.692692+The first step toward creating such tags is to make a GNUPG key and get it693693+signed by one or more core kernel developers. This step can be hard for694694+new developers, but there is no way around it. Attending conferences can695695+be a good way to find developers who can sign your key.744696745745-With rename detection, the statistics are rather different [...]746746-because git will notice that a fair number of the changes are renames.697697+Once you have prepared a patch series in git that you wish to have somebody698698+pull, create a signed tag with "git tag -s". This will create a new tag699699+identifying the last commit in the series and containing a signature700700+created with your private key. You will also have the opportunity to add a701701+changelog-style message to the tag; this is an ideal place to describe the702702+effects of the pull request as a whole.747703748748------------------------------------749749-SECTION 2 - HINTS, TIPS, AND TRICKS750750------------------------------------704704+If the tree the maintainer will be pulling from is not the repository you705705+are working from, don't forget to push the signed tag explicitly to the706706+public tree.751707752752-This section lists many of the common "rules" associated with code753753-submitted to the kernel. There are always exceptions... but you must754754-have a really good reason for doing so. You could probably call this755755-section Linus Computer Science 101.708708+When generating your pull request, use the signed tag as the target. A709709+command like this will do the trick:756710757757-758758-759759-1) Read Documentation/CodingStyle760760-761761-Nuff said. If your code deviates too much from this, it is likely762762-to be rejected without further review, and without comment.763763-764764-One significant exception is when moving code from one file to765765-another -- in this case you should not modify the moved code at all in766766-the same patch which moves it. This clearly delineates the act of767767-moving the code and your changes. This greatly aids review of the768768-actual differences and allows tools to better track the history of769769-the code itself.770770-771771-Check your patches with the patch style checker prior to submission772772-(scripts/checkpatch.pl). The style checker should be viewed as773773-a guide not as the final word. If your code looks better with774774-a violation then its probably best left alone.775775-776776-The checker reports at three levels:777777- - ERROR: things that are very likely to be wrong778778- - WARNING: things requiring careful review779779- - CHECK: things requiring thought780780-781781-You should be able to justify all violations that remain in your782782-patch.783783-784784-785785-786786-2) #ifdefs are ugly787787-788788-Code cluttered with ifdefs is difficult to read and maintain. Don't do789789-it. Instead, put your ifdefs in a header, and conditionally define790790-'static inline' functions, or macros, which are used in the code.791791-Let the compiler optimize away the "no-op" case.792792-793793-Simple example, of poor code:794794-795795- dev = alloc_etherdev (sizeof(struct funky_private));796796- if (!dev)797797- return -ENODEV;798798- #ifdef CONFIG_NET_FUNKINESS799799- init_funky_net(dev);800800- #endif801801-802802-Cleaned-up example:803803-804804-(in header)805805- #ifndef CONFIG_NET_FUNKINESS806806- static inline void init_funky_net (struct net_device *d) {}807807- #endif808808-809809-(in the code itself)810810- dev = alloc_etherdev (sizeof(struct funky_private));811811- if (!dev)812812- return -ENODEV;813813- init_funky_net(dev);814814-815815-816816-817817-3) 'static inline' is better than a macro818818-819819-Static inline functions are greatly preferred over macros.820820-They provide type safety, have no length limitations, no formatting821821-limitations, and under gcc they are as cheap as macros.822822-823823-Macros should only be used for cases where a static inline is clearly824824-suboptimal [there are a few, isolated cases of this in fast paths],825825-or where it is impossible to use a static inline function [such as826826-string-izing].827827-828828-'static inline' is preferred over 'static __inline__', 'extern inline',829829-and 'extern __inline__'.830830-831831-832832-833833-4) Don't over-design.834834-835835-Don't try to anticipate nebulous future cases which may or may not836836-be useful: "Make it as simple as you can, and no simpler."837837-711711+ git request-pull master git://my.public.tree/linux.git my-signed-tag838712839713840714----------------------841841-SECTION 3 - REFERENCES715715+SECTION 2 - REFERENCES842716----------------------843717844718Andrew Morton, "The perfect patch" (tpp).