Re: [PATCH 1/1] pagemap clear_refs: modify to specify anon ormapped vma clearing

[Andrew Morton]

On Tue, 28 Jul 2009 15:52:05 -0700
"Moussa A. Ba" <moussa.a.ba@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

> This patch adds anonymous and file backed filters to the clear_refs interface.
> echo 1 > /proc/PID/clear_refs resets the bits on all pages
> echo 2 > /proc/PID/clear_refs resets the bits on anonymous pages only
> echo 3 > /proc/PID/clear_refs resets the bits on file backed pages only
> Any other value is ignored

The changelog is missing any rationale for making this change. 
Originally we were told that it "makes the clear_refs proc interface a
bit more versatile", but that's a bit thin.

How do we justify making this change to Linux?  What value does it
have?  Can you describe a usage scenario which would help people
understand the usefulness of the change?

Thanks.
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