# Re: \[PATCH 2.6.18\] WE-21 support (core API)

- From: Jean Tourrilhes \<hidden\>
- Date: 2006-09-05 17:08:23 
- List: netdev
- Page: https://ratatoskr.run/netdev/2006/09/10764865
- Thread: https://ratatoskr.run/netdev/2006/08/10764483/t.md

```text
On Mon, Sep 04, 2006 at 10:35:09AM +0200, Johannes Berg wrote:
> Uh, please don't strip me from the CC list :)
> 
> > 	WE-netlink is optional. And WE-ioctl could be made optional
> > (still on the todo list). You can also disable WE-event and WE-iwspy
> > for further footprint reduction.
> 
> The real question is: Why does removing WE-event reduce footprint? I
> guess the answer is that there's a lot of non-generic code needed to
> pack/unpack all the data. Which is not really something you want.

	Wrong answer.

> wireless.c has about 2.3k lines of code. But, for example airo.c
> contains another 15 lines of code just for the trivial *parameter
> checking* in airo_set_essid. This is duplicated all over. Did it never
> occur to you that things like
>                 /* Check the size of the string */
>                 if(dwrq->length > IW_ESSID_MAX_SIZE+1) {
>                         return -E2BIG ;
>                 }
> can be checked generically? Maybe you're actually checking this
> generically. But if I did it your way, I'd copy and paste this all
> over...

	It is actually checked generically, that's the whole point of
the code in wireless.c. But, driver authors don't trust generic
checks.

> > 	It was designed this way on purpose, because you get low
> > footprint and very good scalability.
> 
> Wtf does scalability have to do with it?

	Footprint scalability.

> johannes

	Jean
```