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authorLukas Bulwahn <lukas.bulwahn@gmail.com>2022-07-20 06:13:25 +0200
committerJonathan Corbet <corbet@lwn.net>2022-09-27 13:21:43 -0600
commit32a3a9db16eb7551a6763820a8ed6f151f879eaa (patch)
tree3894496434c8c042f78129f640de61b66fc4b669 /Documentation/process/submitting-patches.rst
parent3f10b50829194eb7ce4c8f320a665b7b076a5fb6 (diff)
docs: admin-guide: for kernel bugs refer to other kernel documentation
The current section 'If something goes wrong' makes a number of suggestions for debugging, bug hunting and reporting issues, which are quite briefly described in that section. However, the suggestions are also well covered in other kernel documentation or sometimes simply outdated. Here, each suggestion in that section is summarized, and then followed with its assessment, and the derived action for each suggestion: - use MAINTAINERS and mailing list: covered in 'Reporting issues', summarized in the short guide, detailed in its further section. Reporting issues even provides some specific examples that guides readers well through the needed steps. Refer to 'Reporting issues'. - contact Linus Torvalds: probably outdated as currently described. nevertheless covered in 'Reporting issues'. Reporting issues points out to contact the relevant kernel maintainers first, and after some patience and failed attempts with those maintainers, contacting Linus Torvalds might be okay. Refer to 'Reporting issues'. - tell what kernel, how to duplicate, the setup, if the problem is new or old and when did you notice: covered in 'Reporting issues', especially in Step-by-step guide how to report issues to the kernel maintainers. Refer to 'Reporting issues'. - duplicate kernel bug reports exactly: covered in 'Reporting issues', especially in Write and send the report. Refer to 'Reporting issues'. - read 'Bug hunting': keep this reference. Refer to 'Bug hunting'. - compile the kernel with CONFIG_KALLSYMS: covered in 'Reporting issues', especially in Decode failure messages. Refer to 'Reporting issues'. - alternatively, use ksymoops: ksymoops at the mentioned URL seems not to be maintained anymore. It was released roughly once a year until version 2.4.11 in 2005, but has not seen a new release since then. The information in ./scripts/ksymoops/README is from 1999, and does not give more insight on its actual maintenance state either. Ksymoops is mentioned as system utility in changes.rst, but also not recommended there. Drop the explanation on using ksymoops. - alternatively, lookup dump manually with the EIP and nm to determine the function in which the kernel crashes: this method seems already a quite advanced and low-level debugging method. Even all the further references on bug hunting and debugging do not mention it. Drop this alternative method and limit mentioning methods explained in the other existing kernel documentation. - read 'Reporting issues': keep this reference. Refer to 'Reporting issues'. - use gdb for debugging: some specific details, e.g., edit arch/x86/Makefile, are probably outdated or limited to one (historic important) setup. Using gdb is covered in 'Bug hunting', 'Debugging kernel and modules via gdb' and 'Using kgdb, kdb and the kernel debugger internals'. Refer to those three documents. Overall, it is sufficient to refer to reporting-issues.rst, bug-hunting.rst, gdb-kernel-debugging.rst and kgdb.rst and this way cover the existing suggestions. 'Reporting issues' is quite new and probably up to date. 'Bug hunting', 'Debugging kernel and modules via gdb' and 'Using kgdb, kdb and the kernel debugger internals' might need some revisit and update, but they are generally in an acceptable state for referring to them. Replace the existing suggestions by reference to other existing kernel documentation covering those suggestions---partly even nicely summarized and then explained in greater detail. Signed-off-by: Lukas Bulwahn <lukas.bulwahn@gmail.com> Link: https://lore.kernel.org/r/20220720041325.15693-3-lukas.bulwahn@gmail.com Signed-off-by: Jonathan Corbet <corbet@lwn.net>
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