The controversy surrounding file metadata identifiers has resonated in the developer community.
Linus Torvalds, the creator and main developer of the Linux kernel, is known for his harsh communication style and criticism of other project participants. This week, a new conflict broke out over Google engineer Stephen Rostedt's proposals for using "inodes" in file systems.
An Inode is a unique identifier for metadata in Linux. For several weeks, the core mailing list has been debating the role and purpose of inodes. Many people believe that they are still needed for archiving files using the tar utility. However, Torvalds expressed the opposite opinion, saying that it is time to abandon the outdated concept, since inode numbers in modern file systems are no longer truly unique.
Despite this, Rostedt suggested implementing global uniqueness of all inode numbers in Linux to solve potential problems. This was followed by sharp criticism from Torvalds, who accused the engineer of not understanding the essence and complexity of the code, as well as copying the functions of the VFS layer of the file system without realizing the consequences.
In fact, Torvalds pointed out that Rostedt's suggestion is redundant and harmful, since inodes have long lost their uniqueness status in Linux, and it is a waste of time and effort to try to fix this. Phrases like "stop complicating things" and "I won't tolerate such nonsense" clearly indicate Torvalds ' extreme irritation with ill-conceived ideas for changing key subsystems.
In 2018, Torvalds promised to correct his conflicted communication style after literally sending a Red Hat engineer three letters. However, the latest incident shows that the "main Linuxoid" is still prone to harsh language addressed to other developers.
After criticism, Rostedt acknowledged his gaps in understanding inode and promised to look into this issue. Torvalds, in turn, did not continue the argument, citing lack of time due to other tasks.
Yesterday Torvalds announced the release of Linux 6.8-rc2. According to him, rc1 had serious bugs that caused desktop PCs to freeze, especially with AMD graphics cards. Torvalds expressed the hope that now everything will work much more stable and the new version can be safely tested.
Only time will tell if the new core is truly stable. And the incident with a Google developer shows that even experienced developers sometimes offer suboptimal solutions, angering Torvalds. Although his reaction was emotional, he is still the main auditor of the quality of Linux kernels.
Linus Torvalds, the creator and main developer of the Linux kernel, is known for his harsh communication style and criticism of other project participants. This week, a new conflict broke out over Google engineer Stephen Rostedt's proposals for using "inodes" in file systems.
An Inode is a unique identifier for metadata in Linux. For several weeks, the core mailing list has been debating the role and purpose of inodes. Many people believe that they are still needed for archiving files using the tar utility. However, Torvalds expressed the opposite opinion, saying that it is time to abandon the outdated concept, since inode numbers in modern file systems are no longer truly unique.
Despite this, Rostedt suggested implementing global uniqueness of all inode numbers in Linux to solve potential problems. This was followed by sharp criticism from Torvalds, who accused the engineer of not understanding the essence and complexity of the code, as well as copying the functions of the VFS layer of the file system without realizing the consequences.
In fact, Torvalds pointed out that Rostedt's suggestion is redundant and harmful, since inodes have long lost their uniqueness status in Linux, and it is a waste of time and effort to try to fix this. Phrases like "stop complicating things" and "I won't tolerate such nonsense" clearly indicate Torvalds ' extreme irritation with ill-conceived ideas for changing key subsystems.
In 2018, Torvalds promised to correct his conflicted communication style after literally sending a Red Hat engineer three letters. However, the latest incident shows that the "main Linuxoid" is still prone to harsh language addressed to other developers.
After criticism, Rostedt acknowledged his gaps in understanding inode and promised to look into this issue. Torvalds, in turn, did not continue the argument, citing lack of time due to other tasks.
Yesterday Torvalds announced the release of Linux 6.8-rc2. According to him, rc1 had serious bugs that caused desktop PCs to freeze, especially with AMD graphics cards. Torvalds expressed the hope that now everything will work much more stable and the new version can be safely tested.
Only time will tell if the new core is truly stable. And the incident with a Google developer shows that even experienced developers sometimes offer suboptimal solutions, angering Torvalds. Although his reaction was emotional, he is still the main auditor of the quality of Linux kernels.
