suse man page for __mark_inode_dirty

__MARK_INODE_DIRTY(9)						   The Linux VFS					     __MARK_INODE_DIRTY(9)

NAME
       __mark_inode_dirty - internal function

SYNOPSIS
       void __mark_inode_dirty(struct inode * inode, int flags);

ARGUMENTS
       inode
	   inode to mark

       flags
	   what kind of dirty (i.e. I_DIRTY_SYNC) Mark an inode as dirty. Callers should use mark_inode_dirty or mark_inode_dirty_sync.

DESCRIPTION
       Put the inode on the super block's dirty list.

       CAREFUL! We mark it dirty unconditionally, but move it onto the dirty list only if it is hashed or if it refers to a blockdev. If it was
       not hashed, it will never be added to the dirty list even if it is later hashed, as it will have been marked dirty already.

       In short, make sure you hash any inodes _before_ you start marking them dirty.

       This function *must* be atomic for the I_DIRTY_PAGES case - set_page_dirty is called under spinlock in several places.

       Note that for blockdevs, inode->dirtied_when represents the dirtying time of the block-special inode (/dev/hda1) itself. And the
       ->dirtied_when field of the kernel-internal blockdev inode represents the dirtying time of the blockdev's pages. This is why for
       I_DIRTY_PAGES we always use page->mapping->host, so the page-dirtying time is recorded in the internal blockdev inode.

COPYRIGHT
Kernel Hackers Manual 2.6.					     July 2010						     __MARK_INODE_DIRTY(9)