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Complaint about return code convention in queue_work() etc.

From:  Alan Stern <stern-AT-rowland.harvard.edu>
To:  Kernel development list <linux-kernel-AT-vger.kernel.org>
Subject:  Complaint about return code convention in queue_work() etc.
Date:  Fri, 18 Aug 2006 17:39:11 -0400 (EDT)
Cc:  Ingo Molnar <mingo-AT-redhat.com>, Andrew Morton <akpm-AT-osdl.org>, David Woodhouse <dwmw2-AT-infradead.org>, Kai Petzke <wpp-AT-marie.physik.tu-berlin.de>, Theodore Ts'o <tytso-AT-mit.edu>
Archive-link:  Article, Thread

I'd like to lodge a bitter complaint about the return codes used by 
queue_work() and related functions:

	Why do the damn things return 0 for error and 1 for success???
	Why don't they use negative error codes for failure, like 
	everything else in the kernel?!!

I've tripped over this at least twice, and on each occasion spent a
considerable length of time trying to track down the problem.

If nobody objects, I'll write a patch to change the convention for the
return values.  It doesn't matter how many places those routines are
called from; it'll be worth it.

Alan Stern



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