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authorJoseph Myers <joseph@codesourcery.com>2016-02-24 17:15:12 +0000
committerJoseph Myers <joseph@codesourcery.com>2016-02-24 17:15:12 +0000
commit5b4ecd3f95695ef593e4474b4ab5a117291ba5fc (patch)
tree69d91123baef83248c7871297a30d0e545a83cab /NEWS
parent8dfdd0794a1197864776a8ce5d30a1dc6344f8a4 (diff)
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Require Linux 3.2 except on x86 / x86_64, 3.2 headers everywhere.
In <https://sourceware.org/ml/libc-alpha/2016-01/msg00885.html> I
proposed a minimum Linux kernel version of 3.2 for glibc 2.24, since
Linux 2.6.32 has reached EOL.

In the discussion in February, some concerns were expressed about
compatibility with OpenVZ containers.  It's not clear that these are
real issues, given OpenVZ backporting kernel features and faking the
kernel version for guest software, as discussed in
<https://sourceware.org/ml/libc-alpha/2016-02/msg00278.html>.  It's
also not clear that supporting running GNU/Linux distributions from
late 2016 (at the earliest) on a kernel series from 2009 is a sensible
expectation.  However, as an interim step, this patch increases the
requirement everywhere except x86 / x86_64 (since the controversy was
only about those architectures); the special caveats and settings can
easily be removed later when we're ready to increase the requirements
on x86 / x86_64 (and if someone would like to raise the issue on LWN
as suggested in the previous discussion, that would be welcome).  3.2
kernel headers are required everywhere by this patch.

(x32 already requires 3.4 or later, so is unaffected by this patch.)

As usual for such a change, this patch only changes the configure
scripts and associated documentation.  The intent is to follow up with
removal of dead __LINUX_KERNEL_VERSION conditionals.  Each __ASSUME_*
or other macro that becomes dead can then be removed independently.

Tested for x86_64 and x86.

	* sysdeps/unix/sysv/linux/configure.ac (LIBC_LINUX_VERSION):
	Define to 3.2.0.
	(arch_minimum_kernel): Likewise.
	* sysdeps/unix/sysv/linux/configure: Regenerated.
	* sysdeps/unix/sysv/linux/i386/configure.ac (arch_minimum_kernel):
	Define to 2.6.32.
	* sysdeps/unix/sysv/linux/i386/configure: Regenerated.
	* sysdeps/unix/sysv/linux/x86_64/64/configure.ac
	(arch_minimum_kernel): Define to 2.6.32.
	* sysdeps/unix/sysv/linux/x86_64/64/configure: Regenerated.
	* README: Document Linux 3.2 requirement.
	* manual/install.texi (Linux): Document Linux 3.2 headers
	requirement.
	* INSTALL: Regenerated.
Diffstat (limited to 'NEWS')
-rw-r--r--NEWS7
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diff --git a/NEWS b/NEWS
index dc5a382c9e..f963b938c8 100644
--- a/NEWS
+++ b/NEWS
@@ -7,6 +7,13 @@ using `glibc' in the "product" field.
 
 Version 2.24
 
+* The minimum Linux kernel version that this version of the GNU C Library
+  can be used with is 3.2, except on i[4567]86 and x86_64, where Linux
+  kernel version 2.6.32 or later suffices (on architectures that already
+  required kernel versions more recent than 3.2, those requirements remain
+  unchanged).  Linux 3.2 or later kernel headers are required on all
+  architectures.
+
 * The pap_AN locale has been deleted.  This has been deprecated for a long
   time.  It has been replaced by pap_AW & pap_CW, both of which have long
   been included in previous releases.