3.3.4.2. Invalidating Shared State

+3.3.4.2. Invalidating Shared State

+ The OpenEmbedded build system uses checksums and shared + state cache to avoid unnecessarily rebuilding tasks. + Collectively, this scheme is known as "shared state code." +

+ As with all schemes, this one has some drawbacks. + It is possible that you could make implicit changes to your + code that the checksum calculations do not take into + account. + These implicit changes affect a task's output but do not + trigger the shared state code into rebuilding a recipe. + Consider an example during which a tool changes its output. + Assume that the output of rpmdeps + changes. + The result of the change should be that all the + package and + package_write_rpm shared state cache + items become invalid. + However, because the change to the output is + external to the code and therefore implicit, + the associated shared state cache items do not become + invalidated. + In this case, the build process uses the cached items + rather than running the task again. + Obviously, these types of implicit changes can cause + problems. +

+ To avoid these problems during the build, you need to + understand the effects of any changes you make. + Realize that changes you make directly to a function + are automatically factored into the checksum calculation. + Thus, these explicit changes invalidate the associated + area of shared state cache. + However, you need to be aware of any implicit changes that + are not obvious changes to the code and could affect + the output of a given task. +

+ When you identify an implicit change, you can easily + take steps to invalidate the cache and force the tasks + to run. + The steps you can take are as simple as changing a + function's comments in the source code. + For example, to invalidate package shared state files, + change the comment statements of + do_package + or the comments of one of the functions it calls. + Even though the change is purely cosmetic, it causes the + checksum to be recalculated and forces the OpenEmbedded + build system to run the task again. +

Note

+ For an example of a commit that makes a cosmetic + change to invalidate shared state, see this + commit. +