Re: [PATCH 00/24] ALSA: Generic PCM copy ops using sockptr_t

[Andy Shevchenko <andriy.shevchenko@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

On Mon, Jul 31, 2023 at 09:30:29PM +0200, Takashi Iwai wrote:
> On Mon, 31 Jul 2023 19:20:54 +0200,
> Mark Brown wrote:
> > 
> > On Mon, Jul 31, 2023 at 05:46:54PM +0200, Takashi Iwai wrote:
> > 
> > > this is a patch set to clean up the PCM copy ops using sockptr_t as a
> > > "universal" pointer, inspired by the recent patch from Andy
> > > Shevchenko:
> > >   
> > > https://lore.kernel.org/r/20230721100146.67293-1-andriy.shevchenko@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> > 
> > > Even though it sounds a bit weird, sockptr_t is a generic type that is
> > > used already in wide ranges, and it can fit our purpose, too.  With
> > > sockptr_t, the former split of copy_user and copy_kernel PCM ops can
> > > be unified again gracefully.
> > 
> > It really feels like we ought to rename, or add an alias for, the type
> > if we're going to start using it more widely - it's not helping to make
> > the code clearer.
> 
> That was my very first impression, too, but I changed my mind after
> seeing the already used code.  An alias might work, either typedef or
> define genptr_t or such as sockptr_t.  But we'll need to copy the
> bunch of helper functions, too...

Maybe we should define a genptr_t (in genptr.h) and convert sockptr infra to
use it (in sockptr.h)? This will leave network and other existing users to
convert to it step-by-step.

Another approach is to simply copy sockptr.h to genptr.h with changed naming
scheme and add a deprecation note to the former.

Thank you, Takashi, for doing this!

-- 
With Best Regards,
Andy Shevchenko