Error message when insmodding
When I load a device driver I get the message:
Warning: loading driver.o will taint the kernel : no license
This is a driver that I created myself and it seems to load and function properly regardless of this message.
What does this mean?
How do I resolve it?
TIA
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Quoted 6 lines
Warning: loading driver.o will taint the kernel : no license
This is a driver that I created myself and it seems to load and function properly regardless of this message.
What does this mean?
Recent kernels have a ``MODULE_LICENSE'' macro, which allows you to specify a license for your module. This is so as kernels with binary-only modules are flagged as such in bug reports, and don't cause people to waste too much time with unfixable problems. All this warning means is that your module has no MODULE_LICENSE.
The tainted bit just means that something odd has happened which will make bug reports less useful/accurate.
Quoted 1 line
How do I resolve it?
Add a MODULE_LICENSE. This is defined in linux/module.h, and is used as:
MODULE_LICENSE("Name of your license");
somewhere near the bottom of your module. Licenses recognised by insmod are (without checking):
GPL
Dual MPL/GPL
Dual BSD/GPL
GPL and additional rights
Anything else will probably get rid of your error message, but won't let you use GPLONLY kernel exports.
Steven Smith,
[email protected].