[Linux-cachefs] Re: [PATCH 0/12] FS-Cache: Generic filesystem caching facility

[Linus Torvalds]

On Tue, 15 Nov 2005, Jamie Lokier wrote:

> Linus Torvalds wrote:
> > And if it _is_ properly named (ie it really does mean "this entry
> > positively does not exist") then it shouldn't have the same
> > representation as NULL, because NULL really is traditionally used
> > for "unknown" rather than "known to not exist".
> 
> You mean like:
> 
> > a negative dentry (dentry->d_inode = NULL) is another.
> 
> ? :)

The _dentry_ is negative, and it is not NULL. It has an explicit flag 
saying that it's negative.

We do not have negative inode caches.

		Linus