Re: [RFC] sys_punchhole()

From: Rob Landley (rob_at_landley.net)
Date: 11/21/05

  • Next message: Rob Landley: "[PATCH] make miniconfig" 
    To: Badari Pulavarty <pbadari@us.ibm.com>
Date:	Mon, 21 Nov 2005 00:46:44 -0600

    On Wednesday 16 November 2005 16:01, Badari Pulavarty wrote:
    > Hmm. Someone other than me asking for it ?
    >
    > I did the madvise() hack and asking to see if any one really needs
    > sys_punchole().

    I run into a potential use case for every once in a while. For example, there
    was recent discussion on the User Mode Linux list about this, since the
    "physical memory" that uses is an mmaped file so the logical way to give
    unused memory back to the host OS (initially via a hotplug memory interface
    driven by some kind of daemon, since the pagecache expands to fill all
    available space even when the data is also redundantly cached by the host OS)
    would by via sys_punchole().

    Of course UML's physmem file is normally on a tmpfs() mount, where
    madvise(DONTNEED) has special behavior to work like punch anyway. So it
    looks like special cases to work around this lack can be added ad infinitum
    so there's never any immediate need for the actual generic functionality.

    On the other hand, if you're going to support holes at all, having to recreate
    the file to get your hole back is kind of silly. I personally think the
    ability to create holes in a new file but not create holes in an existing
    file is every bit as strange as being able to extend a file but not truncate
    it. (See the java 1.1 api for an example of _that_ particular thinko...)

    Rob
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