4 ms·
You overestimate Linus' role in the process. The process is hierarchical and by the time patches reach Linus they're already bulk by the very definition of it.
by CrLf 10y ago
You overestimate Linus' role in the process. The process is hierarchical and by the time patches reach Linus they're already bulk by the very definition of it.
What leads to better security? Having an out-of-tree patch that few people use, or include parts of it in mainline thus benefiting everyone? Eventually most, if not all, of their changes would reach mainline. Also, is it good for security to accept bulk patches touching all kinds of sensitive parts of the kernel? I'd say that the existing process is better for security in the long run.
This process isn't about bowing to anyone, and thinking about patches as someone's baby doesn't help either. This happens every day with patches from companies with deep pockets and big influence and they end up going along with the program to get their stuff accepted. The result is invariably better than the original bulk patch.
- DominikD 10y agoYou're missing the crucial part: grsecurity is not a company with deep pockets. There's little to no incentive for them to spend time on doing something, somewhere they're not terribly welcome. :) Yeah, I'm exaggerating Linus' involvement. But for me there's always personality stink around projects this size. And it's obviously not different for grsecurity itself or, say, OpenBSD. But this definitely has some major upsides too. Basically what I'm trying to say is that even this over the top image of Linus-the-Destroyer should not be read as negative. Everything is shades of gray. Having said that - there's a history of clashes between prominent Linux devs and grsecurity. At this point anyone (Linus or otherwise) would be more than justified shying away from any cooperation with grsecurity. At the same time this doesn't prevent active developers with commit rights from cherry-picking changes (which happens).
- vacri 10y agoI always think it's amusing when the guy who presides over one of the largest software projects in history, with probably the largest number of contributors, is painted as 'the destroyer' or similar.
- deleted 10y ago[deleted]