Re: [PATCH 1/4] Net device error logging, revised

From: Jeff Garzik
Date: Wed Sep 03 2003 - 12:34:41 EST


Jim Keniston wrote:
Jeff Garzik wrote:
"NETIF_MSG_" is silly and should be eliminated.


From this, I infer that you think that the option to "omit" the msglevel arg --
e.g.,
netdev_err(dev,, "NIC is fried!\n"); /* always logged */
-- is silly. No big deal. Its sole purpose is to help keep netdev_* calls terse.

yes


A separate "NETIF_MSG_ALL" test is not needed, because msg_enable is a
bitmask. A msg_enable of 0xffffffff will naturally create a NETIF_MSG_ALL.


But how do you code a netdev_* call where you ALWAYS want the message (including
netdev_printk-style prefix) logged, regardless of the value of msg_enable? That's
what NETIF_MSG_ALL is for (and why it might be better called NETIF_MSG_ALWAYS)...

I understand the purpose of NETIF_MSG_ALL; re-read what I said. You don't need a separate _test_, as your implementation includes. Defining NETIF_MSG_ALL to 0xffffffff will naturally create the effect you seek.


Also, whatever mechanism is created, it needs to preserve the feature of
the existing system:

if (a quick bitmask test)
do something

And preferably "do something" is not inlined, because printk'ing --
although it may appear in a fast path during debugging -- cannot be
considered a fast path itself.

Sorry, I'm not sure what you're getting at here. netdev_* doesn't prevent
people from using the existing netif_msg_* macros; it just provides shorthand
for the (usual) case where "do something" is "printk".


I would prefer to be more ambitious. If we're gonna go in and change every printk in a driver, we might as well do it right, and (a) make sure the driver does msg_enable, and (b) make the source code a bit more clean by hiding the "if (test bitmap)" test in your netdev_xxx stuff.

Jeff


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