Re: 2.6 must-fix list, v3

Jean Tourrilhes (jt@bougret.hpl.hp.com)
Wed, 14 May 2003 14:12:22 -0700


Andrew Morton wrote :
>
> Quite a lot of changes here. Mostly additions, but some things have been
> crossed off.
>
> Also at ftp://ftp.kernel.org/pub/linux/kernel/people/akpm/must-fix

I don't like making todo list for other people, because it's
up to them to decide, but here is my wishlist for 2.6.X in term of
Wireless stuff.
I hope those concerned will react and send you their real todo
list.

o get latest orinoco changes from David. Linus seems timely in
picking David's changes, so I'm not worried about this one.

o get the latest airo.c fixes from CVS. This will hopefully
fix problems people have reported on the LKML.

o get HostAP driver in the kernel. No consolidation of the
802.11 management across driver can happen until this one is in (which
is probably 2.7.X material). I think Jouni is mostly ready but didn't
find time for it.

o get more wireless drivers into the kernel. The most
"integrable" drivers at this point seem the NWN driver, Pavel's
Spectrum driver and the Atmel driver.

o The last two drivers mentioned above are held up by firmware
issues (see flamewar on LKML a few days ago). So maybe fixing those
firmware issues should be a requirement for 2.6.X, because we can
expect more wireless devices to need firmware upload at startup coming
to market.
As this firmware business seems to me not a wireless specific
issue (see for example drivers/scsi/qlogicfc_asm.c or
drivers/atm/atmsar11.data), I would prefer a generic solution to that
problem, either saying it's OK to put firmware in the kernel (with
proper licensing) or providing working technical solutions.
My personal position is that I don't want to hold wireless
drivers in higher standard than other drivers in the kernel, and I
don't want to leave those drivers in the black hole where they
currently are.

Have fun...

Jean
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