Is It Possible To Automatically Port Kernel Modules ?

As essential components in Linux kernel, kernel modules (kmods) account for over 70% of Linux source code and are heavily dependent on fast evolving and non-stable kernel internal interfaces. Forward and back porting kmods to target versions of Linux kernel is hard but necessary. We conducted a comprehensive study to investigate the characteristics of kernel internal interface changes by analyzing 256 representative patches selected from Linux development history in last 7 years. We gained some new insights into challenges and opportunities on automatic porting of kernel modules. The study allows us a better understanding of the problem and it is useful for designing automated tools to assist in porting kmods.