Re: [PATCH] disk: part_mac: Remove the Apple Partition Map driver

On Thu, Aug 27, 2026 at 10:08:32AM +0400, Alexey Charkov wrote:

> The Apple Partition Map predates Advanced Format media by two decades.
> Apple never extended the format to cover 4 Kn logical blocks, has since
> withdrawn its documentation, and has shipped GPT on its own systems for
> almost as long. There is therefore no specification left to follow for
> the one property that matters here: where a partition map entry lives
> when a block is not 512 bytes.
> 
> U-Boot's implementation reflects that. All three entry points read one
> block into a buffer sized after a 512-byte struct, so they smash the
> stack on any device with larger blocks, and part_test_mac() runs during
> partition probing on every block device. Sizing those buffers correctly
> is easy; deciding what the driver should then parse is not, and guessing
> at a layout Apple never defined helps nobody.
> 
> Nothing in tree depends on the driver either: it has no test, no
> documentation and no MAINTAINERS entry, and the sole reference to
> PART_TYPE_MAC is its own partition driver registration.
> 
> Drop it. Anyone who needs Apple Partition Map support for emulated
> hardware can bring it back along with a test.
> 
> Link: https://patch.msgid.link/[email protected]
> Link: https://patch.msgid.link/20260825194528.GB523975@bill-the-cat
> Suggested-by: Heinrich Schuchardt <[email protected]>
> Signed-off-by: Alexey Charkov <[email protected]>

Reviewed-by: Tom Rini <[email protected]>

-- 
Tom

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