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Date: Thu, 30 Nov 2000 14:06:28 -0600
From: Timur Tabi <ttabi@interactivesi.com>
To: linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org
In-Reply-To: <Pine.LNX.4.10.10011301414520.18688-100000@coffee.psychology.mcmaster.ca>
In-Reply-To: <200011301803.eAUI3Pu16137@webber.adilger.net>
Subject: Re: Pls add this driver to the kernel tree !!
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** Reply to message from Mark Hahn <hahn@coffee.psychology.mcmaster.ca> on Thu,
30 Nov 2000 14:16:16 -0500 (EST)


> > Actually, there is some benefit in leaving the LINUX_VERSION_CODE checks
> > there...  If someone wants to back-port the driver to 2.2, this makes it
> > much easier.  Also, some people like to maintain a single driver for all
> > of the kernel versions, so they don't have to bugfix each driver version.
> 
> backports hurt forward progress.

Not necessarily - it all depends on what your driver does.  In many cases,
supporting 2.2 and 2.4 is easy, and all you need are a few #if's.  It's
certainly much better to have a dozen or so #if's sprinkled throughout the code
than to have two separate source trees, and have to make the same change to
multiple files.

Kernel drivers that are not easy to maintain simply delay the release of each
kernel version.  Besides, code is back-ported from 2.4 to 2.2 all the time.


-- 
Timur Tabi - ttabi@interactivesi.com
Interactive Silicon - http://www.interactivesi.com

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