Why Linus Demanded a Name Change for the Mysterious 'GenPD' Kernel Subsystem
Linus Torvalds criticized the ambiguous 'GenPD' naming in a recent ARM SoC driver update PR for Linux 6.6, demanding the subsystem be renamed before merging after finding no documentation for the generic power‑management domain provider.
Linus Torvalds erupted over the cryptic abbreviation "GenPD" when a pull request titled "ARM: SoC/genpd driver updates for v6.6" was submitted to the Linux kernel.
The GenPD provider interface appears in several places within the kernel, yet no documentation explains its purpose.
Linus fetched the PR locally to investigate, but could only locate a vague entry in the MAINTAINERS file—"GENERIC PM DOMAIN PROVIDERS"—and an undocumented Kconfig option PM_GENERIC_DOMAINS, offering no clarification.
Concluding that "genpd" was a meaningless, unexplained name, Linus initially refused to merge the change, warning against using random, opaque identifiers.
Ultimately, he accepted the PR on the condition that the contributor rename the subsystem before the Linux 6.6 merge window closed.
Related link: https://lore.kernel.org/lkml/[email protected]
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