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Date:   Fri, 11 Mar 2022 01:32:44 +0000
To:     Linus Torvalds <torvalds@linux-foundation.org>,
        linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org
From:   =?utf-8?Q?Barnab=C3=A1s_P=C5=91cze?= <pobrn@protonmail.com>
Cc:     Greg Kroah-Hartman <gregkh@linuxfoundation.org>,
        Andrew Morton <akpm@linux-foundation.org>,
        Xiaomeng Tong <xiam0nd.tong@gmail.com>,
        Kees Cook <keescook@chromium.org>,
        Jakob Koschel <jakobkoschel@gmail.com>,
        Arnd Bergmann <arnd@arndb.de>
Reply-To: =?utf-8?Q?Barnab=C3=A1s_P=C5=91cze?= <pobrn@protonmail.com>
Subject: [RFC PATCH v1 0/2] add type-safer list_head wrapper
Message-ID: <20220311013238.3387227-1-pobrn@protonmail.com>
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As there have been various discussions[1][2] about improving
the current `list_head` facilities, I would like to
propose a type-safe(r), lightweight wrapper: tlist.

The first commit goes into details as to how it works,
lists some of its advantages and disadvantages.

The second commit showcases it in the existing WMI platform driver.

NOTE: these changes are mostly untested! They are purely for showcasing
a possible implementation and API. And they depend on the switch to gnu11.

I would like to get some feedback as to whether/how acceptable this
approach is before going further: writing documentation, tests, and
adding more wrappers around existing `list_head` facilities
(e.g. reverse iteration is not implemented).

If this idea has already been proposed, I apologize,
I must have missed it when I searched for similar patches.

PS. I have tried to select those who may be interested
in this discussion, I may have missed people or added
people who aren't interested. Sorry.

[1]: https://lore.kernel.org/all/20220217184829.1991035-1-jakobkoschel@gmai=
l.com/
[2]: https://lore.kernel.org/all/20220301075839.4156-1-xiam0nd.tong@gmail.c=
om/
And see https://lwn.net/Articles/887097/ for a summary.

Barnab=C3=A1s P=C5=91cze (2):
  list: add type-safer list_head wrapper
  platform/x86: wmi: use tlist for WMI blocks

 drivers/platform/x86/wmi.c | 54 ++++++++++---------------
 include/linux/tlist.h      | 81 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 2 files changed, 102 insertions(+), 33 deletions(-)
 create mode 100644 include/linux/tlist.h

--
2.35.1