<feed xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom'>
<title>linux.git/scripts/Makefile.modpost, branch v6.18.21</title>
<subtitle>Clone of https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git</subtitle>
<link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='https://git.exis.tech/linux.git/'/>
<entry>
<title>modpost: Allow extended modversions without basic MODVERSIONS</title>
<updated>2025-01-10T17:36:32+00:00</updated>
<author>
<name>Matthew Maurer</name>
<email>mmaurer@google.com</email>
</author>
<published>2025-01-03T17:37:03+00:00</published>
<link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='https://git.exis.tech/linux.git/commit/?id=e8639b7ef0f871753b4262ec0eacd3da29eebcee'/>
<id>e8639b7ef0f871753b4262ec0eacd3da29eebcee</id>
<content type='text'>
If you know that your kernel modules will only ever be loaded by a newer
kernel, you can disable BASIC_MODVERSIONS to save space. This also
allows easy creation of test modules to see how tooling will respond to
modules that only have the new format.

Signed-off-by: Matthew Maurer &lt;mmaurer@google.com&gt;
Signed-off-by: Masahiro Yamada &lt;masahiroy@kernel.org&gt;
</content>
<content type='xhtml'>
<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'>
<pre>
If you know that your kernel modules will only ever be loaded by a newer
kernel, you can disable BASIC_MODVERSIONS to save space. This also
allows easy creation of test modules to see how tooling will respond to
modules that only have the new format.

Signed-off-by: Matthew Maurer &lt;mmaurer@google.com&gt;
Signed-off-by: Masahiro Yamada &lt;masahiroy@kernel.org&gt;
</pre>
</div>
</content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title>modpost: Produce extended MODVERSIONS information</title>
<updated>2025-01-10T16:25:26+00:00</updated>
<author>
<name>Matthew Maurer</name>
<email>mmaurer@google.com</email>
</author>
<published>2025-01-03T17:37:02+00:00</published>
<link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='https://git.exis.tech/linux.git/commit/?id=fc7d5e3210ae083a29ce224ffce18eaf3d1c645a'/>
<id>fc7d5e3210ae083a29ce224ffce18eaf3d1c645a</id>
<content type='text'>
Generate both the existing modversions format and the new extended one
when running modpost. Presence of this metadata in the final .ko is
guarded by CONFIG_EXTENDED_MODVERSIONS.

We no longer generate an error on long symbols in modpost if
CONFIG_EXTENDED_MODVERSIONS is set, as they can now be appropriately
encoded in the extended section. These symbols will be skipped in the
previous encoding. An error will still be generated if
CONFIG_EXTENDED_MODVERSIONS is not set.

Reviewed-by: Sami Tolvanen &lt;samitolvanen@google.com&gt;
Signed-off-by: Matthew Maurer &lt;mmaurer@google.com&gt;
Signed-off-by: Masahiro Yamada &lt;masahiroy@kernel.org&gt;
</content>
<content type='xhtml'>
<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'>
<pre>
Generate both the existing modversions format and the new extended one
when running modpost. Presence of this metadata in the final .ko is
guarded by CONFIG_EXTENDED_MODVERSIONS.

We no longer generate an error on long symbols in modpost if
CONFIG_EXTENDED_MODVERSIONS is set, as they can now be appropriately
encoded in the extended section. These symbols will be skipped in the
previous encoding. An error will still be generated if
CONFIG_EXTENDED_MODVERSIONS is not set.

Reviewed-by: Sami Tolvanen &lt;samitolvanen@google.com&gt;
Signed-off-by: Matthew Maurer &lt;mmaurer@google.com&gt;
Signed-off-by: Masahiro Yamada &lt;masahiroy@kernel.org&gt;
</pre>
</div>
</content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title>kbuild: remove extmod_prefix, MODORDER, MODULES_NSDEPS variables</title>
<updated>2024-11-27T23:11:55+00:00</updated>
<author>
<name>Masahiro Yamada</name>
<email>masahiroy@kernel.org</email>
</author>
<published>2024-11-10T01:34:34+00:00</published>
<link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='https://git.exis.tech/linux.git/commit/?id=bad6beb2c0bb982b830f592a7b3e3eee76cbb85a'/>
<id>bad6beb2c0bb982b830f592a7b3e3eee76cbb85a</id>
<content type='text'>
With the previous changes, $(extmod_prefix), $(MODORDER), and
$(MODULES_NSDEPS) are constant. (empty, modules.order, and
modules.nsdeps, respectively).

Remove these variables and hard-code their values.

Signed-off-by: Masahiro Yamada &lt;masahiroy@kernel.org&gt;
Reviewed-by: Nicolas Schier &lt;nicolas@fjasle.eu&gt;
</content>
<content type='xhtml'>
<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'>
<pre>
With the previous changes, $(extmod_prefix), $(MODORDER), and
$(MODULES_NSDEPS) are constant. (empty, modules.order, and
modules.nsdeps, respectively).

Remove these variables and hard-code their values.

Signed-off-by: Masahiro Yamada &lt;masahiroy@kernel.org&gt;
Reviewed-by: Nicolas Schier &lt;nicolas@fjasle.eu&gt;
</pre>
</div>
</content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title>kbuild: change working directory to external module directory with M=</title>
<updated>2024-11-27T23:10:23+00:00</updated>
<author>
<name>Masahiro Yamada</name>
<email>masahiroy@kernel.org</email>
</author>
<published>2024-11-10T01:34:33+00:00</published>
<link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='https://git.exis.tech/linux.git/commit/?id=13b25489b6f8bd73ed65f07928f7c27a481f1820'/>
<id>13b25489b6f8bd73ed65f07928f7c27a481f1820</id>
<content type='text'>
Currently, Kbuild always operates in the output directory of the kernel,
even when building external modules. This increases the risk of external
module Makefiles attempting to write to the kernel directory.

This commit switches the working directory to the external module
directory, allowing the removal of the $(KBUILD_EXTMOD)/ prefix from
some build artifacts.

The command for building external modules maintains backward
compatibility, but Makefiles that rely on working in the kernel
directory may break. In such cases, $(objtree) and $(srctree) should
be used to refer to the output and source directories of the kernel.

The appearance of the build log will change as follows:

[Before]

  $ make -C /path/to/my/linux M=/path/to/my/externel/module
  make: Entering directory '/path/to/my/linux'
    CC [M]  /path/to/my/externel/module/helloworld.o
    MODPOST /path/to/my/externel/module/Module.symvers
    CC [M]  /path/to/my/externel/module/helloworld.mod.o
    CC [M]  /path/to/my/externel/module/.module-common.o
    LD [M]  /path/to/my/externel/module/helloworld.ko
  make: Leaving directory '/path/to/my/linux'

[After]

  $ make -C /path/to/my/linux M=/path/to/my/externel/module
  make: Entering directory '/path/to/my/linux'
  make[1]: Entering directory '/path/to/my/externel/module'
    CC [M]  helloworld.o
    MODPOST Module.symvers
    CC [M]  helloworld.mod.o
    CC [M]  .module-common.o
    LD [M]  helloworld.ko
  make[1]: Leaving directory '/path/to/my/externel/module'
  make: Leaving directory '/path/to/my/linux'

Printing "Entering directory" twice is cumbersome. This will be
addressed later.

Signed-off-by: Masahiro Yamada &lt;masahiroy@kernel.org&gt;
Reviewed-by: Nicolas Schier &lt;n.schier@avm.de&gt;
</content>
<content type='xhtml'>
<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'>
<pre>
Currently, Kbuild always operates in the output directory of the kernel,
even when building external modules. This increases the risk of external
module Makefiles attempting to write to the kernel directory.

This commit switches the working directory to the external module
directory, allowing the removal of the $(KBUILD_EXTMOD)/ prefix from
some build artifacts.

The command for building external modules maintains backward
compatibility, but Makefiles that rely on working in the kernel
directory may break. In such cases, $(objtree) and $(srctree) should
be used to refer to the output and source directories of the kernel.

The appearance of the build log will change as follows:

[Before]

  $ make -C /path/to/my/linux M=/path/to/my/externel/module
  make: Entering directory '/path/to/my/linux'
    CC [M]  /path/to/my/externel/module/helloworld.o
    MODPOST /path/to/my/externel/module/Module.symvers
    CC [M]  /path/to/my/externel/module/helloworld.mod.o
    CC [M]  /path/to/my/externel/module/.module-common.o
    LD [M]  /path/to/my/externel/module/helloworld.ko
  make: Leaving directory '/path/to/my/linux'

[After]

  $ make -C /path/to/my/linux M=/path/to/my/externel/module
  make: Entering directory '/path/to/my/linux'
  make[1]: Entering directory '/path/to/my/externel/module'
    CC [M]  helloworld.o
    MODPOST Module.symvers
    CC [M]  helloworld.mod.o
    CC [M]  .module-common.o
    LD [M]  helloworld.ko
  make[1]: Leaving directory '/path/to/my/externel/module'
  make: Leaving directory '/path/to/my/linux'

Printing "Entering directory" twice is cumbersome. This will be
addressed later.

Signed-off-by: Masahiro Yamada &lt;masahiroy@kernel.org&gt;
Reviewed-by: Nicolas Schier &lt;n.schier@avm.de&gt;
</pre>
</div>
</content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title>kbuild: add $(objtree)/ prefix to some in-kernel build artifacts</title>
<updated>2024-11-27T00:38:27+00:00</updated>
<author>
<name>Masahiro Yamada</name>
<email>masahiroy@kernel.org</email>
</author>
<published>2024-11-10T01:34:30+00:00</published>
<link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='https://git.exis.tech/linux.git/commit/?id=214c0eea43b2ea66bcd6467ea57e47ce8874191b'/>
<id>214c0eea43b2ea66bcd6467ea57e47ce8874191b</id>
<content type='text'>
$(objtree) refers to the top of the output directory of kernel builds.

This commit adds the explicit $(objtree)/ prefix to build artifacts
needed for building external modules.

This change has no immediate impact, as the top-level Makefile
currently defines:

  objtree         := .

This commit prepares for supporting the building of external modules
in a different directory.

Signed-off-by: Masahiro Yamada &lt;masahiroy@kernel.org&gt;
Reviewed-by: Nicolas Schier &lt;nicolas@fjasle.eu&gt;
</content>
<content type='xhtml'>
<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'>
<pre>
$(objtree) refers to the top of the output directory of kernel builds.

This commit adds the explicit $(objtree)/ prefix to build artifacts
needed for building external modules.

This change has no immediate impact, as the top-level Makefile
currently defines:

  objtree         := .

This commit prepares for supporting the building of external modules
in a different directory.

Signed-off-by: Masahiro Yamada &lt;masahiroy@kernel.org&gt;
Reviewed-by: Nicolas Schier &lt;nicolas@fjasle.eu&gt;
</pre>
</div>
</content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title>Merge tag 'kbuild-v6.10' of git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/masahiroy/linux-kbuild</title>
<updated>2024-05-18T19:39:20+00:00</updated>
<author>
<name>Linus Torvalds</name>
<email>torvalds@linux-foundation.org</email>
</author>
<published>2024-05-18T19:39:20+00:00</published>
<link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='https://git.exis.tech/linux.git/commit/?id=ff9a79307f89563da6d841da8b7cc4a0afceb0e2'/>
<id>ff9a79307f89563da6d841da8b7cc4a0afceb0e2</id>
<content type='text'>
Pull Kbuild updates from Masahiro Yamada:

 - Avoid 'constexpr', which is a keyword in C23

 - Allow 'dtbs_check' and 'dt_compatible_check' run independently of
   'dt_binding_check'

 - Fix weak references to avoid GOT entries in position-independent code
   generation

 - Convert the last use of 'optional' property in arch/sh/Kconfig

 - Remove support for the 'optional' property in Kconfig

 - Remove support for Clang's ThinLTO caching, which does not work with
   the .incbin directive

 - Change the semantics of $(src) so it always points to the source
   directory, which fixes Makefile inconsistencies between upstream and
   downstream

 - Fix 'make tar-pkg' for RISC-V to produce a consistent package

 - Provide reasonable default coverage for objtool, sanitizers, and
   profilers

 - Remove redundant OBJECT_FILES_NON_STANDARD, KASAN_SANITIZE, etc.

 - Remove the last use of tristate choice in drivers/rapidio/Kconfig

 - Various cleanups and fixes in Kconfig

* tag 'kbuild-v6.10' of git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/masahiroy/linux-kbuild: (46 commits)
  kconfig: use sym_get_choice_menu() in sym_check_prop()
  rapidio: remove choice for enumeration
  kconfig: lxdialog: remove initialization with A_NORMAL
  kconfig: m/nconf: merge two item_add_str() calls
  kconfig: m/nconf: remove dead code to display value of bool choice
  kconfig: m/nconf: remove dead code to display children of choice members
  kconfig: gconf: show checkbox for choice correctly
  kbuild: use GCOV_PROFILE and KCSAN_SANITIZE in scripts/Makefile.modfinal
  Makefile: remove redundant tool coverage variables
  kbuild: provide reasonable defaults for tool coverage
  modules: Drop the .export_symbol section from the final modules
  kconfig: use menu_list_for_each_sym() in sym_check_choice_deps()
  kconfig: use sym_get_choice_menu() in conf_write_defconfig()
  kconfig: add sym_get_choice_menu() helper
  kconfig: turn defaults and additional prompt for choice members into error
  kconfig: turn missing prompt for choice members into error
  kconfig: turn conf_choice() into void function
  kconfig: use linked list in sym_set_changed()
  kconfig: gconf: use MENU_CHANGED instead of SYMBOL_CHANGED
  kconfig: gconf: remove debug code
  ...
</content>
<content type='xhtml'>
<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'>
<pre>
Pull Kbuild updates from Masahiro Yamada:

 - Avoid 'constexpr', which is a keyword in C23

 - Allow 'dtbs_check' and 'dt_compatible_check' run independently of
   'dt_binding_check'

 - Fix weak references to avoid GOT entries in position-independent code
   generation

 - Convert the last use of 'optional' property in arch/sh/Kconfig

 - Remove support for the 'optional' property in Kconfig

 - Remove support for Clang's ThinLTO caching, which does not work with
   the .incbin directive

 - Change the semantics of $(src) so it always points to the source
   directory, which fixes Makefile inconsistencies between upstream and
   downstream

 - Fix 'make tar-pkg' for RISC-V to produce a consistent package

 - Provide reasonable default coverage for objtool, sanitizers, and
   profilers

 - Remove redundant OBJECT_FILES_NON_STANDARD, KASAN_SANITIZE, etc.

 - Remove the last use of tristate choice in drivers/rapidio/Kconfig

 - Various cleanups and fixes in Kconfig

* tag 'kbuild-v6.10' of git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/masahiroy/linux-kbuild: (46 commits)
  kconfig: use sym_get_choice_menu() in sym_check_prop()
  rapidio: remove choice for enumeration
  kconfig: lxdialog: remove initialization with A_NORMAL
  kconfig: m/nconf: merge two item_add_str() calls
  kconfig: m/nconf: remove dead code to display value of bool choice
  kconfig: m/nconf: remove dead code to display children of choice members
  kconfig: gconf: show checkbox for choice correctly
  kbuild: use GCOV_PROFILE and KCSAN_SANITIZE in scripts/Makefile.modfinal
  Makefile: remove redundant tool coverage variables
  kbuild: provide reasonable defaults for tool coverage
  modules: Drop the .export_symbol section from the final modules
  kconfig: use menu_list_for_each_sym() in sym_check_choice_deps()
  kconfig: use sym_get_choice_menu() in conf_write_defconfig()
  kconfig: add sym_get_choice_menu() helper
  kconfig: turn defaults and additional prompt for choice members into error
  kconfig: turn missing prompt for choice members into error
  kconfig: turn conf_choice() into void function
  kconfig: use linked list in sym_set_changed()
  kconfig: gconf: use MENU_CHANGED instead of SYMBOL_CHANGED
  kconfig: gconf: remove debug code
  ...
</pre>
</div>
</content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title>module: allow UNUSED_KSYMS_WHITELIST to be relative against objtree.</title>
<updated>2024-05-14T07:31:43+00:00</updated>
<author>
<name>Yifan Hong</name>
<email>elsk@google.com</email>
</author>
<published>2024-04-10T19:48:02+00:00</published>
<link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='https://git.exis.tech/linux.git/commit/?id=8d0b728840fdcfd0f0bc814c8ac9ef7c677839da'/>
<id>8d0b728840fdcfd0f0bc814c8ac9ef7c677839da</id>
<content type='text'>
If UNUSED_KSYMS_WHITELIST is a file generated
before Kbuild runs, and the source tree is in
a read-only filesystem, the developer must put
the file somewhere and specify an absolute
path to UNUSED_KSYMS_WHITELIST. This worked,
but if IKCONFIG=y, an absolute path is embedded
into .config and eventually into vmlinux, causing
the build to be less reproducible when building
on a different machine.

This patch makes the handling of
UNUSED_KSYMS_WHITELIST to be similar to
MODULE_SIG_KEY.

First, check if UNUSED_KSYMS_WHITELIST is an
absolute path, just as before this patch. If so,
use the path as is.

If it is a relative path, use wildcard to check
the existence of the file below objtree first.
If it does not exist, fall back to the original
behavior of adding $(srctree)/ before the value.

After this patch, the developer can put the generated
file in objtree, then use a relative path against
objtree in .config, eradicating any absolute paths
that may be evaluated differently on different machines.

Signed-off-by: Yifan Hong &lt;elsk@google.com&gt;
Reviewed-by: Elliot Berman &lt;quic_eberman@quicinc.com&gt;
Signed-off-by: Luis Chamberlain &lt;mcgrof@kernel.org&gt;
</content>
<content type='xhtml'>
<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'>
<pre>
If UNUSED_KSYMS_WHITELIST is a file generated
before Kbuild runs, and the source tree is in
a read-only filesystem, the developer must put
the file somewhere and specify an absolute
path to UNUSED_KSYMS_WHITELIST. This worked,
but if IKCONFIG=y, an absolute path is embedded
into .config and eventually into vmlinux, causing
the build to be less reproducible when building
on a different machine.

This patch makes the handling of
UNUSED_KSYMS_WHITELIST to be similar to
MODULE_SIG_KEY.

First, check if UNUSED_KSYMS_WHITELIST is an
absolute path, just as before this patch. If so,
use the path as is.

If it is a relative path, use wildcard to check
the existence of the file below objtree first.
If it does not exist, fall back to the original
behavior of adding $(srctree)/ before the value.

After this patch, the developer can put the generated
file in objtree, then use a relative path against
objtree in .config, eradicating any absolute paths
that may be evaluated differently on different machines.

Signed-off-by: Yifan Hong &lt;elsk@google.com&gt;
Reviewed-by: Elliot Berman &lt;quic_eberman@quicinc.com&gt;
Signed-off-by: Luis Chamberlain &lt;mcgrof@kernel.org&gt;
</pre>
</div>
</content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title>kbuild: use $(src) instead of $(srctree)/$(src) for source directory</title>
<updated>2024-05-09T19:34:52+00:00</updated>
<author>
<name>Masahiro Yamada</name>
<email>masahiroy@kernel.org</email>
</author>
<published>2024-04-27T14:55:02+00:00</published>
<link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='https://git.exis.tech/linux.git/commit/?id=b1992c3772e69a6fd0e3fc81cd4d2820c8b6eca0'/>
<id>b1992c3772e69a6fd0e3fc81cd4d2820c8b6eca0</id>
<content type='text'>
Kbuild conventionally uses $(obj)/ for generated files, and $(src)/ for
checked-in source files. It is merely a convention without any functional
difference. In fact, $(obj) and $(src) are exactly the same, as defined
in scripts/Makefile.build:

    src := $(obj)

When the kernel is built in a separate output directory, $(src) does
not accurately reflect the source directory location. While Kbuild
resolves this discrepancy by specifying VPATH=$(srctree) to search for
source files, it does not cover all cases. For example, when adding a
header search path for local headers, -I$(srctree)/$(src) is typically
passed to the compiler.

This introduces inconsistency between upstream and downstream Makefiles
because $(src) is used instead of $(srctree)/$(src) for the latter.

To address this inconsistency, this commit changes the semantics of
$(src) so that it always points to the directory in the source tree.

Going forward, the variables used in Makefiles will have the following
meanings:

  $(obj)     - directory in the object tree
  $(src)     - directory in the source tree  (changed by this commit)
  $(objtree) - the top of the kernel object tree
  $(srctree) - the top of the kernel source tree

Consequently, $(srctree)/$(src) in upstream Makefiles need to be replaced
with $(src).

Signed-off-by: Masahiro Yamada &lt;masahiroy@kernel.org&gt;
Reviewed-by: Nicolas Schier &lt;nicolas@fjasle.eu&gt;
</content>
<content type='xhtml'>
<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'>
<pre>
Kbuild conventionally uses $(obj)/ for generated files, and $(src)/ for
checked-in source files. It is merely a convention without any functional
difference. In fact, $(obj) and $(src) are exactly the same, as defined
in scripts/Makefile.build:

    src := $(obj)

When the kernel is built in a separate output directory, $(src) does
not accurately reflect the source directory location. While Kbuild
resolves this discrepancy by specifying VPATH=$(srctree) to search for
source files, it does not cover all cases. For example, when adding a
header search path for local headers, -I$(srctree)/$(src) is typically
passed to the compiler.

This introduces inconsistency between upstream and downstream Makefiles
because $(src) is used instead of $(srctree)/$(src) for the latter.

To address this inconsistency, this commit changes the semantics of
$(src) so that it always points to the directory in the source tree.

Going forward, the variables used in Makefiles will have the following
meanings:

  $(obj)     - directory in the object tree
  $(src)     - directory in the source tree  (changed by this commit)
  $(objtree) - the top of the kernel object tree
  $(srctree) - the top of the kernel source tree

Consequently, $(srctree)/$(src) in upstream Makefiles need to be replaced
with $(src).

Signed-off-by: Masahiro Yamada &lt;masahiroy@kernel.org&gt;
Reviewed-by: Nicolas Schier &lt;nicolas@fjasle.eu&gt;
</pre>
</div>
</content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title>linux/export.h: make &lt;linux/export.h&gt; independent of CONFIG_MODULES</title>
<updated>2023-07-24T15:59:32+00:00</updated>
<author>
<name>Masahiro Yamada</name>
<email>masahiroy@kernel.org</email>
</author>
<published>2023-07-16T10:15:54+00:00</published>
<link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='https://git.exis.tech/linux.git/commit/?id=481461f5109919babbb393d6f68002936b8e2493'/>
<id>481461f5109919babbb393d6f68002936b8e2493</id>
<content type='text'>
Currently, all files with EXPORT_SYMBOL() are rebuilt when CONFIG_MODULES
is flipped due to &lt;linux/export.h&gt; depending on CONFIG_MODULES.

Now that modpost can make a final decision about export symbols,
&lt;linux/export.h&gt; does not need to make EXPORT_SYMBOL() no-op.
Instead, modpost can skip emitting KSYMTAB when CONFIG_MODULES is unset.

This commit will reduce the number of recompilation when CONFIG_MODULES
is toggled.

Signed-off-by: Masahiro Yamada &lt;masahiroy@kernel.org&gt;
</content>
<content type='xhtml'>
<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'>
<pre>
Currently, all files with EXPORT_SYMBOL() are rebuilt when CONFIG_MODULES
is flipped due to &lt;linux/export.h&gt; depending on CONFIG_MODULES.

Now that modpost can make a final decision about export symbols,
&lt;linux/export.h&gt; does not need to make EXPORT_SYMBOL() no-op.
Instead, modpost can skip emitting KSYMTAB when CONFIG_MODULES is unset.

This commit will reduce the number of recompilation when CONFIG_MODULES
is toggled.

Signed-off-by: Masahiro Yamada &lt;masahiroy@kernel.org&gt;
</pre>
</div>
</content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title>kbuild: implement CONFIG_TRIM_UNUSED_KSYMS without recursion</title>
<updated>2023-06-22T12:21:06+00:00</updated>
<author>
<name>Masahiro Yamada</name>
<email>masahiroy@kernel.org</email>
</author>
<published>2023-06-11T15:50:57+00:00</published>
<link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='https://git.exis.tech/linux.git/commit/?id=5e9e95cc9148b82074a5eae283e63bce3f1aacfe'/>
<id>5e9e95cc9148b82074a5eae283e63bce3f1aacfe</id>
<content type='text'>
When CONFIG_TRIM_UNUSED_KSYMS is enabled, Kbuild recursively traverses
the directory tree to determine which EXPORT_SYMBOL to trim. If an
EXPORT_SYMBOL turns out to be unused by anyone, Kbuild begins the
second traverse, where some source files are recompiled with their
EXPORT_SYMBOL() tuned into a no-op.

Linus stated negative opinions about this slowness in commits:

 - 5cf0fd591f2e ("Kbuild: disable TRIM_UNUSED_KSYMS option")
 - a555bdd0c58c ("Kbuild: enable TRIM_UNUSED_KSYMS again, with some guarding")

We can do this better now. The final data structures of EXPORT_SYMBOL
are generated by the modpost stage, so modpost can selectively emit
KSYMTAB entries that are really used by modules.

Commit f73edc8951b2 ("kbuild: unify two modpost invocations") is another
ground-work to do this in a one-pass algorithm. With the list of modules,
modpost sets sym-&gt;used if it is used by a module. modpost emits KSYMTAB
only for symbols with sym-&gt;used==true.

BTW, Nicolas explained why the trimming was implemented with recursion:

  https://lore.kernel.org/all/2o2rpn97-79nq-p7s2-nq5-8p83391473r@syhkavp.arg/

Actually, we never achieved that level of optimization where the chain
reaction of trimming comes into play because:

 - CONFIG_LTO_CLANG cannot remove any unused symbols
 - CONFIG_LD_DEAD_CODE_DATA_ELIMINATION is enabled only for vmlinux,
   but not modules

If deeper trimming is required, we need to revisit this, but I guess
that is unlikely to happen.

Signed-off-by: Masahiro Yamada &lt;masahiroy@kernel.org&gt;
</content>
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<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'>
<pre>
When CONFIG_TRIM_UNUSED_KSYMS is enabled, Kbuild recursively traverses
the directory tree to determine which EXPORT_SYMBOL to trim. If an
EXPORT_SYMBOL turns out to be unused by anyone, Kbuild begins the
second traverse, where some source files are recompiled with their
EXPORT_SYMBOL() tuned into a no-op.

Linus stated negative opinions about this slowness in commits:

 - 5cf0fd591f2e ("Kbuild: disable TRIM_UNUSED_KSYMS option")
 - a555bdd0c58c ("Kbuild: enable TRIM_UNUSED_KSYMS again, with some guarding")

We can do this better now. The final data structures of EXPORT_SYMBOL
are generated by the modpost stage, so modpost can selectively emit
KSYMTAB entries that are really used by modules.

Commit f73edc8951b2 ("kbuild: unify two modpost invocations") is another
ground-work to do this in a one-pass algorithm. With the list of modules,
modpost sets sym-&gt;used if it is used by a module. modpost emits KSYMTAB
only for symbols with sym-&gt;used==true.

BTW, Nicolas explained why the trimming was implemented with recursion:

  https://lore.kernel.org/all/2o2rpn97-79nq-p7s2-nq5-8p83391473r@syhkavp.arg/

Actually, we never achieved that level of optimization where the chain
reaction of trimming comes into play because:

 - CONFIG_LTO_CLANG cannot remove any unused symbols
 - CONFIG_LD_DEAD_CODE_DATA_ELIMINATION is enabled only for vmlinux,
   but not modules

If deeper trimming is required, we need to revisit this, but I guess
that is unlikely to happen.

Signed-off-by: Masahiro Yamada &lt;masahiroy@kernel.org&gt;
</pre>
</div>
</content>
</entry>
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