• Lukas Bulwahn's avatar
    docs: process: remove outdated submitting-drivers.rst · 9db370de
    Lukas Bulwahn authored
    Commit 31b24bee ("docs: add a warning to submitting-drivers.rst")
    in October 2016 already warns "This (...) should maybe just be deleted,
    but I'm not quite ready to do that yet".
    
    Maybe, six years ago, we were not ready but let us remove old content
    for the better now and structure and maintain less content in the kernel
    documentation with a better result.
    
    Drop this already outdated document and adjust all textual references.
    
    Here is an argument why deleting the content will not remove any useful
    information to the existing kernel documentation, individually broken down
    for each section.
    
    Section "Allocating Device Numbers" refers to https://www.lanana.org/, and
    then refers to Documentation/admin-guide/devices.rst.
    
    However, the devices.rst clearly states:
    
      "The version of this document at lanana.org is no longer maintained."
    
    Everything needed for submitting drivers is already stated in devices.rst
    and the reference to https://www.lanana.org/ is outdated, and should be
    just deleted.
    
    Section "Who To Submit Drivers To" is all about Linux 2.0 - 2.6, before
    the new release version scheme; the mentioned developers are still around,
    but actually not the first developers to contact anymore.
    
    Section "What Criteria Determine Acceptance" has a few bullet points:
    
    Licensing and Copyright is well-covered in process/kernel-license.rst.
    
    Interfaces, Code, Portability, Clarity state some obvious things about
    ensuring kernel code quality.
    
    Control suggests to add a MAINTAINERS entry, which is already mentioned in
    6.Followthrough.rst: "... added yourself to the MAINTAINERS file..."
    
    PM support states a bit about implementing and testing power management of
    a driver, it remains an open question where to place that in the process
    documents. Driver developers interested in power management will find the
    corresponding part on power management in the kernel documentation anyway.
    
    In section "What Criteria Do Not Determine Acceptance", the points Vendor
    and Author states something basic consequence of the kernel being an
    open-source community software development. Probably no need to mention it
    nowadays.
    
    Section "Resources" lists resources that are also mentioned elsewhere more
    central.
    
      - Linux kernel tree and mailing list is mentioned in many places.
      - https://lwn.net/Kernel/LDD3/ is mentioned in
        Documentation/process/kernel-docs.rst.
    
      - https://lwn.net/ is mentioned in:
        - Documentation/process/8.Conclusion.rst
        - Documentation/process/kernel-docs.rst
    
      - https://kernelnewbies.org/ is mentioned in:
          - Documentation/process/8.Conclusion.rst
          - Documentation/process/kernel-docs.rst
    
      - http://www.linux-usb.org/ is mentioned in
        Documentation/driver-api/usb/usb.rst
    
      - https://landley.net/kdocs/ols/2002/ols2002-pages-545-555.pdf
        is mentioned in Documentation/process/kernel-docs.rst
    
      - https://kernelnewbies.org/KernelJanitors is mentioned in
        Documentation/process/howto.rst
    
      - https://git-scm.com/ is mentioned in
        - Documentation/process/2.Process.rst
        - Documentation/process/7.AdvancedTopics.rst
        - Documentation/process/howto.rst
    Signed-off-by: default avatarLukas Bulwahn <lukas.bulwahn@gmail.com>
    Link: https://lore.kernel.org/r/20220704122537.3407-7-lukas.bulwahn@gmail.comSigned-off-by: default avatarJonathan Corbet <corbet@lwn.net>
    9db370de
howto.rst 26.9 KB