Shaping Your Driver as a Patch Series for Upstream
Code enters Linux as a series of small, ordered, individually reviewable changes sent by mail, each with a message explaining why it exists, introduced by a cover letter that explains the whole. In this stage you compare your driver against the version of the same device driver that was submitted upstream, split your work into that shape, find out which maintainers should receive it, and write the cover letter. After it you know how contributions to Linux are actually packaged, which is the difference between code on your laptop and code other people can use.
Questions this Concept answers
- Why must each patch in a series build and work on its own?
Submitting and Reviewing Patch Series in Linux Kernel Development
Submitting and reviewing a patch series in a large open-source project like the Linux kernel is governed by a set of social and technical conventions: patches must be organized as a logically ordered…