Linus Torvalds 7cd122b552 Merge tag 'pull-persistency' of git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/viro/vfs
Pull persistent dentry infrastructure and conversion from Al Viro:
 "Some filesystems use a kinda-sorta controlled dentry refcount leak to
  pin dentries of created objects in dcache (and undo it when removing
  those). A reference is grabbed and not released, but it's not actually
  _stored_ anywhere.

  That works, but it's hard to follow and verify; among other things, we
  have no way to tell _which_ of the increments is intended to be an
  unpaired one. Worse, on removal we need to decide whether the
  reference had already been dropped, which can be non-trivial if that
  removal is on umount and we need to figure out if this dentry is
  pinned due to e.g. unlink() not done. Usually that is handled by using
  kill_litter_super() as ->kill_sb(), but there are open-coded special
  cases of the same (consider e.g. /proc/self).

  Things get simpler if we introduce a new dentry flag
  (DCACHE_PERSISTENT) marking those "leaked" dentries. Having it set
  claims responsibility for +1 in refcount.

  The end result this series is aiming for:

   - get these unbalanced dget() and dput() replaced with new primitives
     that would, in addition to adjusting refcount, set and clear
     persistency flag.

   - instead of having kill_litter_super() mess with removing the
     remaining "leaked" references (e.g. for all tmpfs files that hadn't
     been removed prior to umount), have the regular
     shrink_dcache_for_umount() strip DCACHE_PERSISTENT of all dentries,
     dropping the corresponding reference if it had been set. After that
     kill_litter_super() becomes an equivalent of kill_anon_super().

  Doing that in a single step is not feasible - it would affect too many
  places in too many filesystems. It has to be split into a series.

  This work has really started early in 2024; quite a few preliminary
  pieces have already gone into mainline. This chunk is finally getting
  to the meat of that stuff - infrastructure and most of the conversions
  to it.

  Some pieces are still sitting in the local branches, but the bulk of
  that stuff is here"

* tag 'pull-persistency' of git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/viro/vfs: (54 commits)
  d_make_discardable(): warn if given a non-persistent dentry
  kill securityfs_recursive_remove()
  convert securityfs
  get rid of kill_litter_super()
  convert rust_binderfs
  convert nfsctl
  convert rpc_pipefs
  convert hypfs
  hypfs: swich hypfs_create_u64() to returning int
  hypfs: switch hypfs_create_str() to returning int
  hypfs: don't pin dentries twice
  convert gadgetfs
  gadgetfs: switch to simple_remove_by_name()
  convert functionfs
  functionfs: switch to simple_remove_by_name()
  functionfs: fix the open/removal races
  functionfs: need to cancel ->reset_work in ->kill_sb()
  functionfs: don't bother with ffs->ref in ffs_data_{opened,closed}()
  functionfs: don't abuse ffs_data_closed() on fs shutdown
  convert selinuxfs
  ...
2025-12-05 14:36:21 -08:00
2025-02-19 14:53:27 -07:00

Linux kernel
============

The Linux kernel is the core of any Linux operating system. It manages hardware,
system resources, and provides the fundamental services for all other software.

Quick Start
-----------

* Report a bug: See Documentation/admin-guide/reporting-issues.rst
* Get the latest kernel: https://kernel.org
* Build the kernel: See Documentation/admin-guide/quickly-build-trimmed-linux.rst
* Join the community: https://lore.kernel.org/

Essential Documentation
-----------------------

All users should be familiar with:

* Building requirements: Documentation/process/changes.rst
* Code of Conduct: Documentation/process/code-of-conduct.rst
* License: See COPYING

Documentation can be built with make htmldocs or viewed online at:
https://www.kernel.org/doc/html/latest/


Who Are You?
============

Find your role below:

* New Kernel Developer - Getting started with kernel development
* Academic Researcher - Studying kernel internals and architecture
* Security Expert - Hardening and vulnerability analysis
* Backport/Maintenance Engineer - Maintaining stable kernels
* System Administrator - Configuring and troubleshooting
* Maintainer - Leading subsystems and reviewing patches
* Hardware Vendor - Writing drivers for new hardware
* Distribution Maintainer - Packaging kernels for distros


For Specific Users
==================

New Kernel Developer
--------------------

Welcome! Start your kernel development journey here:

* Getting Started: Documentation/process/development-process.rst
* Your First Patch: Documentation/process/submitting-patches.rst
* Coding Style: Documentation/process/coding-style.rst
* Build System: Documentation/kbuild/index.rst
* Development Tools: Documentation/dev-tools/index.rst
* Kernel Hacking Guide: Documentation/kernel-hacking/hacking.rst
* Core APIs: Documentation/core-api/index.rst

Academic Researcher
-------------------

Explore the kernel's architecture and internals:

* Researcher Guidelines: Documentation/process/researcher-guidelines.rst
* Memory Management: Documentation/mm/index.rst
* Scheduler: Documentation/scheduler/index.rst
* Networking Stack: Documentation/networking/index.rst
* Filesystems: Documentation/filesystems/index.rst
* RCU (Read-Copy Update): Documentation/RCU/index.rst
* Locking Primitives: Documentation/locking/index.rst
* Power Management: Documentation/power/index.rst

Security Expert
---------------

Security documentation and hardening guides:

* Security Documentation: Documentation/security/index.rst
* LSM Development: Documentation/security/lsm-development.rst
* Self Protection: Documentation/security/self-protection.rst
* Reporting Vulnerabilities: Documentation/process/security-bugs.rst
* CVE Procedures: Documentation/process/cve.rst
* Embargoed Hardware Issues: Documentation/process/embargoed-hardware-issues.rst
* Security Features: Documentation/userspace-api/seccomp_filter.rst

Backport/Maintenance Engineer
-----------------------------

Maintain and stabilize kernel versions:

* Stable Kernel Rules: Documentation/process/stable-kernel-rules.rst
* Backporting Guide: Documentation/process/backporting.rst
* Applying Patches: Documentation/process/applying-patches.rst
* Subsystem Profile: Documentation/maintainer/maintainer-entry-profile.rst
* Git for Maintainers: Documentation/maintainer/configure-git.rst

System Administrator
--------------------

Configure, tune, and troubleshoot Linux systems:

* Admin Guide: Documentation/admin-guide/index.rst
* Kernel Parameters: Documentation/admin-guide/kernel-parameters.rst
* Sysctl Tuning: Documentation/admin-guide/sysctl/index.rst
* Tracing/Debugging: Documentation/trace/index.rst
* Performance Security: Documentation/admin-guide/perf-security.rst
* Hardware Monitoring: Documentation/hwmon/index.rst

Maintainer
----------

Lead kernel subsystems and manage contributions:

* Maintainer Handbook: Documentation/maintainer/index.rst
* Pull Requests: Documentation/maintainer/pull-requests.rst
* Managing Patches: Documentation/maintainer/modifying-patches.rst
* Rebasing and Merging: Documentation/maintainer/rebasing-and-merging.rst
* Development Process: Documentation/process/maintainer-handbooks.rst
* Maintainer Entry Profile: Documentation/maintainer/maintainer-entry-profile.rst
* Git Configuration: Documentation/maintainer/configure-git.rst

Hardware Vendor
---------------

Write drivers and support new hardware:

* Driver API Guide: Documentation/driver-api/index.rst
* Driver Model: Documentation/driver-api/driver-model/driver.rst
* Device Drivers: Documentation/driver-api/infrastructure.rst
* Bus Types: Documentation/driver-api/driver-model/bus.rst
* Device Tree Bindings: Documentation/devicetree/bindings/
* Power Management: Documentation/driver-api/pm/index.rst
* DMA API: Documentation/core-api/dma-api.rst

Distribution Maintainer
-----------------------

Package and distribute the kernel:

* Stable Kernel Rules: Documentation/process/stable-kernel-rules.rst
* ABI Documentation: Documentation/ABI/README
* Kernel Configuration: Documentation/kbuild/kconfig.rst
* Module Signing: Documentation/admin-guide/module-signing.rst
* Kernel Parameters: Documentation/admin-guide/kernel-parameters.rst
* Tainted Kernels: Documentation/admin-guide/tainted-kernels.rst



Communication and Support
=========================

* Mailing Lists: https://lore.kernel.org/
* IRC: #kernelnewbies on irc.oftc.net
* Bugzilla: https://bugzilla.kernel.org/
* MAINTAINERS file: Lists subsystem maintainers and mailing lists
* Email Clients: Documentation/process/email-clients.rst
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