RE: Migration to Debian Bookworm and compiler updates for KernelCI

+ CIP people 
(sorry for the delay)

> From: Denys Fedoryshchenko <[email protected]>
> Sent: Thursday, March 7, 2024 11:02 AM
> 
> Hello,
> 
> I'm reaching out on behalf of the KernelCI project team to discuss our
> current compiler setup and planned migration to Debian Bookworm.
> 
> As you may know, our compiler images are currently based on Debian
> Bullseye, which is approaching its end of life in July 2024. We have
> been testing using gcc-10, which has presented us with some recent
> challenges, notably a significant bug that results in false positive
> compilation errors (specifically, the -Werror memcpy issue in
> security.c). This situation has prompted us to consider an urgent
> migration to Debian Bookworm. Additionally, the migration is
> necessitated by our requirement to upgrade to a newer Python version to
> support KernelCI v2 development efforts.
> 
> However, before we proceed, we have a couple of pending questions that
> we hope to get clarity on:
> 
> 1) We've noticed that the minimal available version of clang on
> https://apt.llvm.org/bookworm/dists/ is 15, whereas our current minimal
> requirement for the Linux kernel compilation is clang-13.0.1
> (https://www.kernel.org/doc/html/next/process/changes.html). How
> critical is it to continue providing compile tests for clang-13 (and
> potentially clang-14)? This information would be vital for us in
> planning our compiler support strategy moving forward.
> 
> 2) We are also considering migrating to gcc-12 and would like to
> inquire if the CIP (Civil Infrastructure Platform) could provide their
> endorsement for this move. Should there be any reservations about
> transitioning to gcc-12, we would greatly appreciate development
> support in building gcc-10 for Bookworm. In the interim, we would like
> to inquire if it's acceptable to continue using our current gcc-10
> images based on Bullseye until such a migration is feasible.

Jan, Iwamatsu-san, Arisu-san,
Do you have any comments here?

Thanks, Chris


> 
> We believe that addressing these questions is crucial for our project's
> progression and ensuring that we maintain a robust and reliable build
> environment for the Linux kernel. We eagerly await your feedback and
> any recommendations you may have regarding our migration plan and
> compiler version support.
> 
> Thank you for your time and consideration.
> 
> Best regards,
> 
> Denys Fedoryshchenko