linux/Documentation/ABI
Linus Torvalds 6c373ca893 Merge git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/davem/net-next
Pull networking updates from David Miller:

 1) Add BQL support to via-rhine, from Tino Reichardt.

 2) Integrate SWITCHDEV layer support into the DSA layer, so DSA drivers
    can support hw switch offloading.  From Floria Fainelli.

 3) Allow 'ip address' commands to initiate multicast group join/leave,
    from Madhu Challa.

 4) Many ipv4 FIB lookup optimizations from Alexander Duyck.

 5) Support EBPF in cls_bpf classifier and act_bpf action, from Daniel
    Borkmann.

 6) Remove the ugly compat support in ARP for ugly layers like ax25,
    rose, etc.  And use this to clean up the neigh layer, then use it to
    implement MPLS support.  All from Eric Biederman.

 7) Support L3 forwarding offloading in switches, from Scott Feldman.

 8) Collapse the LOCAL and MAIN ipv4 FIB tables when possible, to speed
    up route lookups even further.  From Alexander Duyck.

 9) Many improvements and bug fixes to the rhashtable implementation,
    from Herbert Xu and Thomas Graf.  In particular, in the case where
    an rhashtable user bulk adds a large number of items into an empty
    table, we expand the table much more sanely.

10) Don't make the tcp_metrics hash table per-namespace, from Eric
    Biederman.

11) Extend EBPF to access SKB fields, from Alexei Starovoitov.

12) Split out new connection request sockets so that they can be
    established in the main hash table.  Much less false sharing since
    hash lookups go direct to the request sockets instead of having to
    go first to the listener then to the request socks hashed
    underneath.  From Eric Dumazet.

13) Add async I/O support for crytpo AF_ALG sockets, from Tadeusz Struk.

14) Support stable privacy address generation for RFC7217 in IPV6.  From
    Hannes Frederic Sowa.

15) Hash network namespace into IP frag IDs, also from Hannes Frederic
    Sowa.

16) Convert PTP get/set methods to use 64-bit time, from Richard
    Cochran.

* git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/davem/net-next: (1816 commits)
  fm10k: Bump driver version to 0.15.2
  fm10k: corrected VF multicast update
  fm10k: mbx_update_max_size does not drop all oversized messages
  fm10k: reset head instead of calling update_max_size
  fm10k: renamed mbx_tx_dropped to mbx_tx_oversized
  fm10k: update xcast mode before synchronizing multicast addresses
  fm10k: start service timer on probe
  fm10k: fix function header comment
  fm10k: comment next_vf_mbx flow
  fm10k: don't handle mailbox events in iov_event path and always process mailbox
  fm10k: use separate workqueue for fm10k driver
  fm10k: Set PF queues to unlimited bandwidth during virtualization
  fm10k: expose tx_timeout_count as an ethtool stat
  fm10k: only increment tx_timeout_count in Tx hang path
  fm10k: remove extraneous "Reset interface" message
  fm10k: separate PF only stats so that VF does not display them
  fm10k: use hw->mac.max_queues for stats
  fm10k: only show actual queues, not the maximum in hardware
  fm10k: allow creation of VLAN on default vid
  fm10k: fix unused warnings
  ...
2015-04-15 09:00:47 -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 net_dma: simple removal 2014-09-28 07:05:16 -07:00
stable drivers/core/of: Add symlink to device-tree from devices with an OF node 2015-03-25 14:56:58 +01:00
testing Merge git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/davem/net-next 2015-04-15 09:00:47 -07:00
README Documentation/ABI: document the non-ABI status of Kconfig and symbols 2013-11-13 12:09:32 +09:00

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.


Notable bits of non-ABI, which should not under any circumstances be considered
stable:

- Kconfig.  Userspace should not rely on the presence or absence of any
  particular Kconfig symbol, in /proc/config.gz, in the copy of .config
  commonly installed to /boot, or in any invocation of the kernel build
  process.

- Kernel-internal symbols.  Do not rely on the presence, absence, location, or
  type of any kernel symbol, either in System.map files or the kernel binary
  itself.  See Documentation/stable_api_nonsense.txt.