Subject: Re: [PATCH] Add ability to register class interfaces for network class

From: Timo Teräs <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 27 Oct 2004 14:31:04 +0300

ext ext Christoph Hellwig wrote:
>>I pointed out the reason why I need it: to add an attribute:
>>/sys/class/net/<interface>/<new_attribute>. Others might want to do this
>>too.
>>
>>Also the interface subsystem is used in many places (eg. i2o) to create
>>all the sysfs entries. Maybe it'd be useful to do in net class as well.
>>And if'd make separate interfaces for standard attributes and wireless
>>attributes. That way you'd get rid of the #ifdefs of WIRELESS_EXT in
>>net-sysfs.c.
>>
>>On the other hand you didn't answer my question: why the
>>interface registration should not be possible?
>>Documentation/driver-model/interface.txt states that this is exactly the
>>thing it should be used for.
> 
> Because we don't add interfaces for the sake of it. You still haven't show
> the user that wants this.  i you presented a sane user the review would be
> quite different.

I am the user wanting it :)

If you want to look more detailed what I'm trying to accomplish you could check:
http://seclists.org/lists/linux-kernel/2004/Oct/1373.html
http://seclists.org/lists/linux-kernel/2004/Sep/8685.html
http://lists.netfilter.org/pipermail/netfilter-devel/2004-August/016342.html

Of course the ideal way to do this would be adding a timer to net_device and 
modifying net-sysfs.c. But I don't think that is going to happen so I want to 
do as unintrusive implementation as possible. And currently I think it'd be 
adding an interface to network class device which creates the related attribute.

Cheers,
   Timo