On Tue Feb 17, 2026 at 7:10 PM CET, Tim Bird wrote: [...] > The kernel documentation recommends GPL-2.0 instead of GPL-2.0-only. > See https://docs.kernel.org/process/license-rules.html > > So my general guideline to myself is to use GPL-2.0 when there's no > established > pattern in a directory. However, when there is already code with an SPDX ID > in a directory > or from an author, I use whichever one has already been assigned (if it's > clear). > This is to keep consistency and honors previous decisions about which of the > equivalent IDs to use. sound/soc/apple/mca.c already had a GPL-2.0-only ID, > and I should have used that for both the Kconfig and the Makefile, by that > guideline. > > However, there is also consistency by file type. There are a few more uses of > GPL-2.0 than GPL-2.0-only in Makefiles throughout the kernel. But in this > case I think that the directory/author consistency should take precedence over > the file type consistency. > > So I messed up in this case. My recollection is that I did this SDPX > application in > two different sweeps of the directory, (that is by file type instead of all > files at the > same time in this dir.) The application of the SPDX ID for the Makefile was > done at > a different time than the application of the SPDX ID for the Kconfig. [...]
Oh wow! That is definitely a lot to remember each time and consider. So delegating it to an external tool, as you say, is certainly a good idea. > (and maybe a new tool to check for inconsistencies like this) to avoid this > in the future. > > The Makefile should have had GPL-2.0-only, to match mca.c and Kconfig. > > I will submit a new V2 patch with the Makefile having a GPL-2.0-only ID. > > Thanks for catching this! Only by chance. This time I forgot and did not do my due dilligence (like at least consulting the documentation, for example). Best regards, Piotr Masłowski
