Improvement request for Handbook section 8.4: adaptive_giant
Jan Gundtofte-Bruun
jan at g-b.dk
Mon Nov 1 14:07:06 UTC 2004
Hi,
I was just browsing the "compile your own kernel" section in the
handbook, and I must say that it is excellently written. I have never
compiled a kernel, and this section is kept in a language that is
friendly and understandable to a mortal like me. Considering the
subject, that is quite a feat.
However, there is one line, in section 8.4, that sticks out:
options ADAPTIVE_GIANT # Giant mutex is adaptive.
This option causes Giant to be included in the set of mutexes adaptively spun on.
The wording of this line is in contrast to the rest of the document, the
description is simply not adding any value. I have no idea if it would
be dangerous to comment this line out (to optimize).
I don't think I need to know why mutexes spin adaptively, but please
consider spending 5 words to exlain what a Giant is used for, so that I
can decide if I need this. At least, a safe default could be something
like "If you don't know what a Giant is, you [should leave this in]/[can
safely comment this out]."
Thanks!
:o) Jan Gundtofte-Bruun
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