[linux-dvb] RFC: remove support from v4l-dvb for kernels < 2.6.16
Andy Walls
awalls at radix.net
Sun Jul 6 14:58:34 CEST 2008
On Thu, 2008-07-03 at 23:52 +0200, Hans Verkuil wrote:
> RFC: remove support from v4l-dvb for kernels < 2.6.16
>
> After spending some time trying to get v4l-dvb to compile on older
> kernels I discovered that:
>
> - it is OK for kernels >= 2.6.19
>
> - it does not compile at the moment for kernels >= 2.6.16 and < 2.6.19,
> but that this can be fixed.
>
> - that it can be made to compile for kernels >= 2.6.12 and < 2.6.16,
> although quite a few drivers had to be disabled and looking at the type
> of compile warnings emitted the result would likely crash, especially
> the closer one gets to 2.6.12.
>
> - that I no longer can compile against older kernels since gcc-4.1.2 no
> longer accepts some constructions used in those kernel sources.
But a user can have an old kernel version and an old tool chain. IMO I
don't think gcc's version is a valid criterion, as that makes an
assumption about what the user is using to build his very old kernel.
I know Fedora 5 used to include a gcc-3.2.3 (in the compat-gcc-32
package) for compiling older stuff. I guess there was a major shift in
gcc after that point. (I use gcc-3.2.3 in building the x86_64-mips
cross compiler tool chain for building the linux v2.4.20 firmware for my
router.)
> I did a few scans and of the approximately 932 KERNEL_VERSION checks
> only 268 remain if we drop support for anything below 2.6.26. That's a
> major cleanup.
> Since it is now simply broken for anything below 2.6.19 I think it is a
> good solution to on the one hand do a major cleanup at the expense of
> making it unlikely that we will ever support kernels below 2.6.16, and
> on the other hand at least start to support 2.6.16 and up.
Only supporting 2.6.26 onward would prompt a surge of questions
regarding compilation problems for users who are only a few kernel
versions behind. I think your suggestion of supporting a few kernels
back (2.6.16 or 2.6.19) is preferable.
My $0.02
-Andy
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