From f4cdf7ca9a1fdcca413157df19753f388a5a224e Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Linus Torvalds Date: Wed, 19 Aug 2026 10:09:22 -0700 Subject: Merge tag 'media/v7.3-1' of git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/mchehab/linux-media Pull media updates from Mauro Carvalho Chehab: - v4l2-core: added ISP statistics support and per-block validation - v4l2-core: Allow unknown HDR10 white point and luminance - New camera sensors: Sony IMX678 and IMX471m, Himax HM1092 IR sensor - New codec: Milos: VPU v2.0 codec support - isp driver: gained support for Dreamchip RPPX1 ISP framework - vsp1 driver: gained support for RZ/T2H and RZ/N2H - Novalake driver: gained CVS support for new NVL hardware - dvb-core: fix feed leak on failed DMX_ADD_PID - several driver fixes, cleanups and minor improvements * tag 'media/v7.3-1' of git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/mchehab/linux-media: (308 commits) media: ipu-bridge: check all DMI entries when overriding sensor rotation media: v4l2-async: avoid deleting unlinked ASC entry on link error media: rzg2l-cru: Align bytesperline to hardware DMA stride requirement media: intel/ipu6: fix async notifier cleanup leak on parse error media: staging/ipu7: fix async notifier UAF on probe error path media: amd: isp4: fix self-deadlock in isp4sd_pwron_and_init() error path media: amd: isp4: release partial allocations in isp4if_alloc_fw_gpumem() media: rcar-isp: Fix VSPX reference leaks media: rcar-isp: Release ISPCORE resources media: i2c: imx415: Release runtime PM reference on VBLANK error media: i2c: imx415: Return test pattern write errors media: renesas: vsp1: Declare index variables in for loop statement media: renesas: vsp1: Make reset control optional to support platforms without a reset line media: dt-bindings: media: renesas,vsp1: Document RZ/T2H and RZ/N2H SoCs media: dt-bindings: media: renesas,fcp: Document RZ/T2H and RZ/N2H SoCs media: nxp: imx8-isi: Add additional 32-bit RGB format support media: nxp: imx8-isi: Add 16-bit raw Bayer format support media: nxp: imx8-isi: Implement per-stream reference counting for multiplexed streams media: nxp: imx8-isi: Use BIT_ULL() for 64-bit stream masks media: nxp: imx8-isi: Correct color map between V4L2 and ISI ... --- Documentation/admin-guide/bug-bisect.rst | 165 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 1 file changed, 165 insertions(+) create mode 100644 Documentation/admin-guide/bug-bisect.rst (limited to 'Documentation/admin-guide/bug-bisect.rst') diff --git a/Documentation/admin-guide/bug-bisect.rst b/Documentation/admin-guide/bug-bisect.rst new file mode 100644 index 000000000..f4f867cab --- /dev/null +++ b/Documentation/admin-guide/bug-bisect.rst @@ -0,0 +1,165 @@ +.. SPDX-License-Identifier: (GPL-2.0+ OR CC-BY-4.0) +.. [see the bottom of this file for redistribution information] + +====================== +Bisecting a regression +====================== + +This document describes how to use a ``git bisect`` to find the source code +change that broke something -- for example when some functionality stopped +working after upgrading from Linux 6.0 to 6.1. + +The text focuses on the gist of the process. If you are new to bisecting the +kernel, better follow Documentation/admin-guide/verify-bugs-and-bisect-regressions.rst +instead: it depicts everything from start to finish while covering multiple +aspects even kernel developers occasionally forget. This includes detecting +situations early where a bisection would be a waste of time, as nobody would +care about the result -- for example, because the problem happens after the +kernel marked itself as 'tainted', occurs in an abandoned version, was already +fixed, or is caused by a .config change you or your Linux distributor performed. + +Finding the change causing a kernel issue using a bisection +=========================================================== + +*Note: the following process assumes you prepared everything for a bisection. +This includes having a Git clone with the appropriate sources, installing the +software required to build and install kernels, as well as a .config file stored +in a safe place (the following example assumes '~/prepared_kernel_.config') to +use as pristine base at each bisection step; ideally, you have also worked out +a fully reliable and straight-forward way to reproduce the regression, too.* + +* Preparation: start the bisection and tell Git about the points in the history + you consider to be working and broken, which Git calls 'good' and 'bad':: + + git bisect start + git bisect good v6.0 + git bisect bad v6.1 + + Instead of Git tags like 'v6.0' and 'v6.1' you can specify commit-ids, too. + +1. Copy your prepared .config into the build directory and adjust it to the + needs of the codebase Git checked out for testing:: + + cp ~/prepared_kernel_.config .config + make olddefconfig + +2. Now build, install, and boot a kernel. This might fail for unrelated reasons, + for example, when a compile error happens at the current stage of the + bisection a later change resolves. In such cases run ``git bisect skip`` and + go back to step 1. + +3. Check if the functionality that regressed works in the kernel you just built. + + If it works, execute:: + + git bisect good + + If it is broken, run:: + + git bisect bad + + Note, getting this wrong just once will send the rest of the bisection + totally off course. To prevent having to start anew later you thus want to + ensure what you tell Git is correct; it is thus often wise to spend a few + minutes more on testing in case your reproducer is unreliable. + + After issuing one of these two commands, Git will usually check out another + bisection point and print something like 'Bisecting: 675 revisions left to + test after this (roughly 10 steps)'. In that case go back to step 1. + + If Git instead prints something like 'cafecaca0c0dacafecaca0c0dacafecaca0c0da + is the first bad commit', then you have finished the bisection. In that case + move to the next point below. Note, right after displaying that line Git will + show some details about the culprit including its patch description; this can + easily fill your terminal, so you might need to scroll up to see the message + mentioning the culprit's commit-id. + + In case you missed Git's output, you can always run ``git bisect log`` to + print the status: it will show how many steps remain or mention the result of + the bisection. + +* Recommended complementary task: put the bisection log and the current .config + file aside for the bug report; furthermore tell Git to reset the sources to + the state before the bisection:: + + git bisect log > ~/bisection-log + cp .config ~/bisection-config-culprit + git bisect reset + +* Recommended optional task: try reverting the culprit on top of the latest + codebase and check if that fixes your bug; if that is the case, it validates + the bisection and enables developers to resolve the regression through a + revert. + + To try this, update your clone and check out latest mainline. Then tell Git + to revert the change by specifying its commit-id:: + + git revert --no-edit cafec0cacaca0 + + Git might reject this, for example when the bisection landed on a merge + commit. In that case, abandon the attempt. Do the same, if Git fails to revert + the culprit on its own because later changes depend on it -- at least unless + you bisected a stable or longterm kernel series, in which case you want to + check out its latest codebase and try a revert there. + + If a revert succeeds, build and test another kernel to check if reverting + resolved your regression. + +With that the process is complete. Now report the regression as described by +Documentation/admin-guide/reporting-issues.rst. + +Bisecting linux-next +-------------------- + +If you face a problem only happening in linux-next, bisect between the +linux-next branches 'stable' and 'master'. The following commands will start +the process for a linux-next tree you added as a remote called 'next':: + + git bisect start + git bisect good next/stable + git bisect bad next/master + +The 'stable' branch refers to the state of linux-mainline that the current +linux-next release (found in the 'master' branch) is based on -- the former +thus should be free of any problems that show up in -next, but not in Linus' +tree. + +This will bisect across a wide range of changes, some of which you might have +used in earlier linux-next releases without problems. Sadly there is no simple +way to avoid checking them: bisecting from one linux-next release to a later +one (say between 'next-20241020' and 'next-20241021') is impossible, as they +share no common history. + +Additional reading material +--------------------------- + +* The `man page for 'git bisect' `_ and + `fighting regressions with 'git bisect' `_ + in the Git documentation. +* `Working with git bisect `_ + from kernel developer Nathan Chancellor. +* `Using Git bisect to figure out when brokenness was introduced `_. +* `Fully automated bisecting with 'git bisect run' `_. + +.. + end-of-content +.. + This document is maintained by Thorsten Leemhuis . If + you spot a typo or small mistake, feel free to let him know directly and + he'll fix it. You are free to do the same in a mostly informal way if you + want to contribute changes to the text -- but for copyright reasons please CC + linux-doc@vger.kernel.org and 'sign-off' your contribution as + Documentation/process/submitting-patches.rst explains in the section 'Sign + your work - the Developer's Certificate of Origin'. +.. + This text is available under GPL-2.0+ or CC-BY-4.0, as stated at the top + of the file. If you want to distribute this text under CC-BY-4.0 only, + please use 'The Linux kernel development community' for author attribution + and link this as source: + https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git/plain/Documentation/admin-guide/bug-bisect.rst + +.. + Note: Only the content of this RST file as found in the Linux kernel sources + is available under CC-BY-4.0, as versions of this text that were processed + (for example by the kernel's build system) might contain content taken from + files which use a more restrictive license. -- cgit v1.3.1