Re: [PATCH v06 04/36] uapi scsi/scsi_netlink_fc.h: use __u16, __u32 and __u64 from linux/types.h

From: Mikko Rapeli
Date: Mon Aug 07 2017 - 02:09:04 EST


On Sun, Aug 06, 2017 at 03:09:21PM -0700, James Bottomley wrote:
> On Sun, 2017-08-06 at 23:42 +0300, Mikko Rapeli wrote:
> > Hi,
> >
> > On Sun, Aug 06, 2017 at 11:22:53AM -0700, James Bottomley wrote:
> > >
> > > On Sun, 2017-08-06 at 18:43 +0200, Mikko Rapeli wrote:
> > > >
> > > > Fixes userspace compilation errors like:
> > > >
> > > > scsi/scsi_netlink_fc.h:60:2: error: expected specifier-qualifier-
> > > > list Âbefore âuint64_tâ
> > >
> > > Rather than patching the kernel, why not #include <stdint.h> in
> > > your userspace programme?
> >
> > The userspace program is actually a test which checks that uapi
> > headers compile alone because several headers are not compiling at
> > all and/or require special tricks. The test is available here:
> >
> > http://marc.info/?l=linux-kernel&m=150203944104544&w=2
>
> But you don't seem to be detecting or fixing an existing problem.
> ÂThese types are width unambiguous and all current consumers of these
> headers include stdint.h so you're churning the kernel for a problem
> which doesn't currently exist for any consumer of this header.

The header file dependencies of scsi/scsi_netlink_fc.h are not explicit.
I will propose a patch which includes <stdint.h> in userspace then.

> I can agree not adding any more external uint<x>_t types for newly
> exported headers so new consumers don't depend on an external standard
> is reasonable, so checkpatch should warn if someone tries to add them;
> I just don't see the benefit of going over the whole kernel changing
> stuff that has worked fine for years. ÂNow if you can tell me there's
> an actual bug somewhere, that's different ...

Tools parsing and checking uapi headers need to be able to compile them
and thus need the explicit list of dependencies. If <stdint.h> is a
required dependency, then scsi/scsi_netlink_fc.h should include it.

scsi/scsi_netlink_fc.h is one of 42 problematic headers left in current
kernel and I want to fix it one way or the other.

-Mikko