Re: I request inclusion of SAS Transport Layer and AIC-94xx into the kernel

[Ryan Anderson <ryan@autoweb.net>]

On Mon, 2005-10-03 at 23:26 +0200, Tomasz Kłoczko wrote:
> If (cytation from Linus) "a 'spec' is close to useless" ..
> Q: why the hell in kernel tree is included Documentation/ subdirectory ?
> Is it raly content of this directory is "close to useless" or maybe it not
> contains some specyfications ? :>

Let me rephrase what Linus said, to help remove the misreading that
seems so common today.  I think a fair rewording would be, "A spec is a
guideline.  When it fails to match reality, continuing to follow it is a
tremendous mistake."

Additionally, I think the overall LKML feeling on hardware specs and the
corresponding software abstractions to deal with it can be summarized
something like this:

When the spec provides a software design that doesn't fit into the
overall structure of the Linux kernel, the spec should be treated as a
suggestion for a software design.  The *interface* that the spec
documents should be followed, where it moves out of the overall
structure, but internally, a design that fits into the Linux kernel is
more important than following a spec that doesn't fit.

-- 
Ryan Anderson
AutoWeb Communications, Inc.
email: ryan@autoweb.net

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