linux/Documentation/ABI
Linus Torvalds 2e515bf096 Merge branch 'for-linus' of git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/jikos/trivial
Pull trivial tree from Jiri Kosina:
 "The usual trivial updates all over the tree -- mostly typo fixes and
  documentation updates"

* 'for-linus' of git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/jikos/trivial: (52 commits)
  doc: Documentation/cputopology.txt fix typo
  treewide: Convert retrun typos to return
  Fix comment typo for init_cma_reserved_pageblock
  Documentation/trace: Correcting and extending tracepoint documentation
  mm/hotplug: fix a typo in Documentation/memory-hotplug.txt
  power: Documentation: Update s2ram link
  doc: fix a typo in Documentation/00-INDEX
  Documentation/printk-formats.txt: No casts needed for u64/s64
  doc: Fix typo "is is" in Documentations
  treewide: Fix printks with 0x%#
  zram: doc fixes
  Documentation/kmemcheck: update kmemcheck documentation
  doc: documentation/hwspinlock.txt fix typo
  PM / Hibernate: add section for resume options
  doc: filesystems : Fix typo in Documentations/filesystems
  scsi/megaraid fixed several typos in comments
  ppc: init_32: Fix error typo "CONFIG_START_KERNEL"
  treewide: Add __GFP_NOWARN to k.alloc calls with v.alloc fallbacks
  page_isolation: Fix a comment typo in test_pages_isolated()
  doc: fix a typo about irq affinity
  ...
2013-09-06 09:36:28 -07:00
..
obsolete Merge branches 'for-3.7/upstream-fixes', 'for-3.8/hidraw', 'for-3.8/i2c-hid', 'for-3.8/multitouch', 'for-3.8/roccat', 'for-3.8/sensors' and 'for-3.8/upstream' into for-linus 2012-12-12 21:41:55 +01:00
removed netfilter: remove ip_queue support 2012-05-08 20:25:42 +02:00
stable Documentation sysfs-bus-usb: Document which files are used by libusb 2013-08-30 11:13:26 -07:00
testing Merge branch 'for-linus' of git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/jikos/trivial 2013-09-06 09:36:28 -07:00
README Documentation: remove reference to feature-removal-schedule.txt 2012-12-17 17:15:12 -08:00

This directory attempts to document the ABI between the Linux kernel and
userspace, and the relative stability of these interfaces.  Due to the
everchanging nature of Linux, and the differing maturity levels, these
interfaces should be used by userspace programs in different ways.

We have four different levels of ABI stability, as shown by the four
different subdirectories in this location.  Interfaces may change levels
of stability according to the rules described below.

The different levels of stability are:

  stable/
	This directory documents the interfaces that the developer has
	defined to be stable.  Userspace programs are free to use these
	interfaces with no restrictions, and backward compatibility for
	them will be guaranteed for at least 2 years.  Most interfaces
	(like syscalls) are expected to never change and always be
	available.

  testing/
	This directory documents interfaces that are felt to be stable,
	as the main development of this interface has been completed.
	The interface can be changed to add new features, but the
	current interface will not break by doing this, unless grave
	errors or security problems are found in them.  Userspace
	programs can start to rely on these interfaces, but they must be
	aware of changes that can occur before these interfaces move to
	be marked stable.  Programs that use these interfaces are
	strongly encouraged to add their name to the description of
	these interfaces, so that the kernel developers can easily
	notify them if any changes occur (see the description of the
	layout of the files below for details on how to do this.)

  obsolete/
  	This directory documents interfaces that are still remaining in
	the kernel, but are marked to be removed at some later point in
	time.  The description of the interface will document the reason
	why it is obsolete and when it can be expected to be removed.

  removed/
	This directory contains a list of the old interfaces that have
	been removed from the kernel.

Every file in these directories will contain the following information:

What:		Short description of the interface
Date:		Date created
KernelVersion:	Kernel version this feature first showed up in.
Contact:	Primary contact for this interface (may be a mailing list)
Description:	Long description of the interface and how to use it.
Users:		All users of this interface who wish to be notified when
		it changes.  This is very important for interfaces in
		the "testing" stage, so that kernel developers can work
		with userspace developers to ensure that things do not
		break in ways that are unacceptable.  It is also
		important to get feedback for these interfaces to make
		sure they are working in a proper way and do not need to
		be changed further.


How things move between levels:

Interfaces in stable may move to obsolete, as long as the proper
notification is given.

Interfaces may be removed from obsolete and the kernel as long as the
documented amount of time has gone by.

Interfaces in the testing state can move to the stable state when the
developers feel they are finished.  They cannot be removed from the
kernel tree without going through the obsolete state first.

It's up to the developer to place their interfaces in the category they
wish for it to start out in.