diff --git a/Documentation/sysctl/ctl_unnumbered.txt b/Documentation/sysctl/ctl_unnumbered.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 23003a8ea3e7..000000000000 --- a/Documentation/sysctl/ctl_unnumbered.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,22 +0,0 @@ - -Except for a few extremely rare exceptions user space applications do not use -the binary sysctl interface. Instead everyone uses /proc/sys/... with -readable ascii names. - -Recently the kernel has started supporting setting the binary sysctl value to -CTL_UNNUMBERED so we no longer need to assign a binary sysctl path to allow -sysctls to show up in /proc/sys. - -Assigning binary sysctl numbers is an endless source of conflicts in sysctl.h, -breaking of the user space ABI (because of those conflicts), and maintenance -problems. A complete pass through all of the sysctl users revealed multiple -instances where the sysctl binary interface was broken and had gone undetected -for years. - -So please do not add new binary sysctl numbers. They are unneeded and -problematic. - -If you really need a new binary sysctl number please first merge your sysctl -into the kernel and then as a separate patch allocate a binary sysctl number. - -(ebiederm@xmission.com, June 2007) diff --git a/include/linux/sysctl.h b/include/linux/sysctl.h index b4f6adc6a02c..c83a86a22381 100644 --- a/include/linux/sysctl.h +++ b/include/linux/sysctl.h @@ -15,9 +15,6 @@ ** The kernel will then return -ENOTDIR to any application using ** the old binary interface. ** - ** For new interfaces unless you really need a binary number - ** please use CTL_UNNUMBERED. - ** **************************************************************** **************************************************************** */ @@ -50,12 +47,6 @@ struct __sysctl_args { /* Top-level names: */ -/* For internal pattern-matching use only: */ -#ifdef __KERNEL__ -#define CTL_NONE 0 -#define CTL_UNNUMBERED CTL_NONE /* sysctl without a binary number */ -#endif - enum { CTL_KERN=1, /* General kernel info and control */