--- /dev/null
+0[$] IDA: simplifying the complex task of allocating integers null/LWN/0000764057 70\r
+i [Kernel] Sep 4, 2018 0:15 UTC (Tue) (corbet)\r
+i\r
+i It is common for kernel code to generate unique integers for\r
+i identifiers. When one plugs in a flash drive, it will show up\r
+i as /dev/sdN; that N (a letter derived from a number) must be\r
+i generated in the kernel, and it should not already be in use\r
+i for another drive or unpleasant things will happen. One might\r
+i think that generating such numbers would not be a difficult\r
+i task, but that turns out not to be the case, especially in\r
+i situations where many numbers must be tracked. The IDA (for\r
+i "ID allocator", perhaps) API exists to handle this specialized\r
+i task. In past kernels, it has managed to make the process of\r
+i getting an unused number surprisingly complex; the 4.19 kernel\r
+i has a new IDA API that simplifies things considerably.\r
+i\r