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Message-ID: <43F407FE.6070204@yahoo.com.au>
Date: Thu, 16 Feb 2006 16:05:02 +1100
From: Nick Piggin <nickpiggin@yahoo.com.au>
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To: Coywolf Qi Hunt <qiyong@fc-cn.com>
CC: akpm@osdl.org, linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org, torvalds@osdl.org
Subject: Re: [patch] make sysctl_overcommit_memory enumeration sensible
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Coywolf Qi Hunt wrote:
> On Wed, Feb 15, 2006 at 08:01:10PM +1100, Nick Piggin wrote:
> 
>>Coywolf Qi Hunt wrote:
>>
>>>I see system admins often confused when they sysctl vm.overcommit_memory.
>>>This patch makes overcommit_memory enumeration sensible.
>>>
>>
>>What's the point? The current has been there for a long time, and
>>is well documented.
> 
> 
> Yes, the current is well documented and for a long time. But the design is
> insane, no matter how well and how long it is documented. Users have to read
> the document for *many times*.
> 
> The new way is logical so it would let us "read once, remember always".
> 
> 

That's just not how it's done, full stop.

If it was really a big problem, you'd add a new sysctl with the new
behaviour, put a warning printk in the kernel that says the old one
is deprecated, wait for a year or so, then remove the old one.

But I suspect it simply doesn't matter that much in this case.

-- 
SUSE Labs, Novell Inc.
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