[$] Collaborating with out-of-tree tracers

Executive Summary

LTTng creator Mathieu Desnoyers seems a bit trapped in something of a catch-22 . At the 2026 Linux Plumbers Conference (LPC), he led a discussion on the problem he is having in trying to collaborate with other tracing projects (e.g. ftrace , perf ) in the kernel. The feedback he has gotten, both over the years and more recently, does not show a path that would allow him to contribute the 21-year-old GPLv2-licensed LTTng tracing framework, or, incrementally, features from it, to the mainline kernel.

Open Silicon & Gate-Level Hardware Inspection

From a silicon and hardware engineering viewpoint: - **Interface Neutrality:** Mitigates dependency on proprietary BSPs, empowering open toolchains to address hardware directly. - **Supply Chain Verification:** Schematics and open pinouts allow deterministic audits against silicon errata. - **Lifecycle Decoupling:** Decouples physical hardware utility from commercial vendor end-of-life obsolescence.

Impact on the Open Ecosystem

Ensures that computational autonomy remains in the hands of the architect rather than closed silicon vendors.