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The linux-api mailing list

Following a session (Who own's the interface) led by Michael Kerrisk at the 2008 Linux Plumbers Conference, the linux-api mailing list (linux-api@vger.kernel.org) was created as a forum to discuss changes that affect the Linux programming interface (API or ABI).

Among other things, a primary goal of the list is to help answer the question: How do we even know when an interface has been added or changed? Many people have an interest in the answer to that question, including:

The difficulty of answering that question is a contributing factor to many problems in the Linux API—for example, insufficient design review before release (with the consequence that mistakes in API designs are recognized too late), insufficient prerelease testing, poor or late documentation, and delays before kernel APIs are made available via C libraries.

The kernel source file Documentation/SubmitChecklist notes that all Linux kernel patches that change userspace interfaces should be CCed to linux-api@vger.kernel.org. You would help many people by heeding that advice, and in return your kernel patches might even see a bit more view and get better documentation, faster.

Message for easy pasting into mail threads ;-):

[CC += linux-api@vger.kernel.org]

Since this is a kernel-user-space API change, could you please CC linux-api@ (and also for any future iterations of this patch series). The kernel source file Documentation/SubmitChecklist notes that all Linux kernel patches that change userspace interfaces should be CCed to linux-api@vger.kernel.org, so that the various parties who are interested in API changes are informed. For further information, see https://www.kernel.org/doc/man-pages/linux-api-ml.html

Subscription and archive

To subscribe to the list, send a message containing the following body to majordomo@vger.kernel.org:

    subscribe linux-api 

Searchable archives of this list can be found on lore. and MARC.