linux/Documentation/ABI
Linus Torvalds fa93669a19 Driver core merge for 3.6-rc1
Here's the big driver core pull request for 3.6-rc1.
 
 Unlike 3.5, this kernel should be a lot tamer, with the printk changes now
 settled down.  All we have here is some extcon driver updates, w1 driver
 updates, a few printk cleanups that weren't needed for 3.5, but are good to
 have now, and some other minor fixes/changes in the driver core.
 
 All of these have been in the linux-next releases for a while now.
 
 Signed-off-by: Greg Kroah-Hartman <gregkh@linuxfoundation.org>
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Merge tag 'driver-core-3.6-rc1' of git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/gregkh/driver-core

Pull driver core changes from Greg Kroah-Hartman:
 "Here's the big driver core pull request for 3.6-rc1.

  Unlike 3.5, this kernel should be a lot tamer, with the printk changes
  now settled down.  All we have here is some extcon driver updates, w1
  driver updates, a few printk cleanups that weren't needed for 3.5, but
  are good to have now, and some other minor fixes/changes in the driver
  core.

  All of these have been in the linux-next releases for a while now.

  Signed-off-by: Greg Kroah-Hartman <gregkh@linuxfoundation.org>"

* tag 'driver-core-3.6-rc1' of git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/gregkh/driver-core: (38 commits)
  printk: Export struct log size and member offsets through vmcoreinfo
  Drivers: hv: Change the hex constant to a decimal constant
  driver core: don't trigger uevent after failure
  extcon: MAX77693: Add extcon-max77693 driver to support Maxim MAX77693 MUIC device
  sysfs: fail dentry revalidation after namespace change fix
  sysfs: fail dentry revalidation after namespace change
  extcon: spelling of detach in function doc
  extcon: arizona: Stop microphone detection if we give up on it
  extcon: arizona: Update cable reporting calls and split headset
  PM / Runtime: Do not increment device usage counts before probing
  kmsg - do not flush partial lines when the console is busy
  kmsg - export "continuation record" flag to /dev/kmsg
  kmsg - avoid warning for CONFIG_PRINTK=n compilations
  kmsg - properly print over-long continuation lines
  driver-core: Use kobj_to_dev instead of re-implementing it
  driver-core: Move kobj_to_dev from genhd.h to device.h
  driver core: Move deferred devices to the end of dpm_list before probing
  driver core: move uevent call to driver_register
  driver core: fix shutdown races with probe/remove(v3)
  Extcon: Arizona: Add driver for Wolfson Arizona class devices
  ...
2012-07-26 11:25:33 -07:00
..
obsolete Documentation: Fix multiple typo in Documentation 2012-03-07 16:08:24 +01:00
removed netfilter: remove ip_queue support 2012-05-08 20:25:42 +02:00
stable Driver core merge for 3.6-rc1 2012-07-26 11:25:33 -07:00
testing Driver core merge for 3.6-rc1 2012-07-26 11:25:33 -07:00
README [PATCH] Add kernel<->userspace ABI stability documentation 2006-06-21 12:40:47 -07:00

This directory attempts to document the ABI between the Linux kernel and
userspace, and the relative stability of these interfaces.  Due to the
everchanging nature of Linux, and the differing maturity levels, these
interfaces should be used by userspace programs in different ways.

We have four different levels of ABI stability, as shown by the four
different subdirectories in this location.  Interfaces may change levels
of stability according to the rules described below.

The different levels of stability are:

  stable/
	This directory documents the interfaces that the developer has
	defined to be stable.  Userspace programs are free to use these
	interfaces with no restrictions, and backward compatibility for
	them will be guaranteed for at least 2 years.  Most interfaces
	(like syscalls) are expected to never change and always be
	available.

  testing/
	This directory documents interfaces that are felt to be stable,
	as the main development of this interface has been completed.
	The interface can be changed to add new features, but the
	current interface will not break by doing this, unless grave
	errors or security problems are found in them.  Userspace
	programs can start to rely on these interfaces, but they must be
	aware of changes that can occur before these interfaces move to
	be marked stable.  Programs that use these interfaces are
	strongly encouraged to add their name to the description of
	these interfaces, so that the kernel developers can easily
	notify them if any changes occur (see the description of the
	layout of the files below for details on how to do this.)

  obsolete/
  	This directory documents interfaces that are still remaining in
	the kernel, but are marked to be removed at some later point in
	time.  The description of the interface will document the reason
	why it is obsolete and when it can be expected to be removed.
	The file Documentation/feature-removal-schedule.txt may describe
	some of these interfaces, giving a schedule for when they will
	be removed.

  removed/
	This directory contains a list of the old interfaces that have
	been removed from the kernel.

Every file in these directories will contain the following information:

What:		Short description of the interface
Date:		Date created
KernelVersion:	Kernel version this feature first showed up in.
Contact:	Primary contact for this interface (may be a mailing list)
Description:	Long description of the interface and how to use it.
Users:		All users of this interface who wish to be notified when
		it changes.  This is very important for interfaces in
		the "testing" stage, so that kernel developers can work
		with userspace developers to ensure that things do not
		break in ways that are unacceptable.  It is also
		important to get feedback for these interfaces to make
		sure they are working in a proper way and do not need to
		be changed further.


How things move between levels:

Interfaces in stable may move to obsolete, as long as the proper
notification is given.

Interfaces may be removed from obsolete and the kernel as long as the
documented amount of time has gone by.

Interfaces in the testing state can move to the stable state when the
developers feel they are finished.  They cannot be removed from the
kernel tree without going through the obsolete state first.

It's up to the developer to place their interfaces in the category they
wish for it to start out in.