kbuild configuration system improvements

From: Cheng Renquan <[email protected]>

kbuild-menuconfig-display-depend-value.patch

Sometimes when configuring need to disable some unused item, but the item is selected by many other items, it's hard to find the real dependency which selected it, This patch add every symbol's value accompanied to make it possible to find the real dependency easily.

An example is CONFIG_RFKILL,

---------------------- RF switch subsystem support ----------------------

  | CONFIG_RFKILL:                                                        |
  |                                                                       |
  | Say Y here if you want to have control over RF switches               |
  | found on many WiFi and Bluetooth cards.                               |
  |                                                                       |
  | To compile this driver as a module, choose M here: the                |
  | module will be called rfkill.                                         |
  |                                                                       |
  | Symbol: RFKILL [=m]                                                   |
  | Prompt: RF switch subsystem support                                   |
  |   Defined at net/rfkill/Kconfig:4                                     |
  |   Depends on: NET [=y]                                                |
  |   Location:                                                           |
  |     -> Networking support (NET [=y])                                  |
  |   Selected by: IWLCORE [=n] && NETDEVICES [=y] && !S390 [=S390] && PC |
  |                                                                       |

----------------------------------------------------------------( 99%)---

I like this concept, but I'd like to see it supported with make oldconfig.

Let's say I copy a .config from kernel X into kernel Y (Y>X) and make oldconfig. Sometimes the new kernel will enable some previously disabled option, and it would be very useful to see WHY.

To take a concrete example, in my 2.6.30 .config I had:

CONFIG_DRM=m
CONFIG_DRM_RADEON=m
# CONFIG_FB is not set

which when oldconfig'd in 2.6.31-rc changed to

CONFIG_DRM=m
CONFIG_DRM_RADEON=m
CONFIG_FB=m
(+ some more FB stuff)

In this case it would have been nice to get an explanation that DRM_RADEON was responsible for (wrongly, IMO) selecting FB. Something like

# CONFIG_FB was selected by CONFIG_DRM_RADEON
CONFIG_FB=m

These comments should only be emitted for options added by select that previously were absent or 'is not set'.

/Mikael

From: Cheng Renquan <[email protected]>

These patches improve usability of kernel configuration system,

1. add symbol's value shown accompanied in config item's help message;
2. move the real plumbing functions code from mconf.c to menu.c, make them be able to be shared with other configuration methods;
3. add "symbol's value shown" support for gconfig/xconfig/config;

    0001-add-symbol-value-to-help-find-the-real-depend.patch
    0002-add-menu_get_ext_help-function-to-display-more-infor.patch
    0003-menuconfig-improvements.patch
    0004-make-use-of-menu_get_ext_help-in-gconfig.patch
    0005-make-use-of-menu_get_ext_help-in-qconfig.patch
    0006-make-use-of-menu_get_ext_help-in-make-config.patch

I fixed them all up to:
1) include "kconfig:" prefix in subject
2) cc: of Roman Zippel which is kconfig maintainer

There were a few checkpatch issues that I decided to ignore for now.

Please always cc: Roman on kconfig patches as he is the mintainer.

Applied to kbuild-next.git.

Thanks,
       Sam

Quoted 9 lines · Cheng Renquan

From: Cheng Renquan <[email protected]>

These patches improve usability of kernel configuration system,

1. add symbol's value shown accompanied in config item's help message;
2. move the real plumbing functions code from mconf.c to menu.c, make them be able to be shared with other configuration methods;
3. add "symbol's value shown" support for gconfig/xconfig/config;

Quoted 6 lines

    0001-add-symbol-value-to-help-find-the-real-depend.patch
    0002-add-menu_get_ext_help-function-to-display-more-infor.patch
    0003-menuconfig-improvements.patch
    0004-make-use-of-menu_get_ext_help-in-gconfig.patch
    0005-make-use-of-menu_get_ext_help-in-qconfig.patch
    0006-make-use-of-menu_get_ext_help-in-make-config.patch

I fixed them all up to:
1) include "kconfig:" prefix in subject
2) cc: of Roman Zippel which is kconfig maintainer

There were a few checkpatch issues that I decided to ignore for now.

Please always cc: Roman on kconfig patches as he is the mintainer.

Applied to kbuild-next.git.

Quoted 23 lines · On Sat, 18 Jul 2009 09:21:38 +0200 Sam Ravnborg wrote:

Quoted 9 lines · Cheng Renquan

From: Cheng Renquan <[email protected]>

These patches improve usability of kernel configuration system,

1. add symbol's value shown accompanied in config item's help message;
2. move the real plumbing functions code from mconf.c to menu.c, make them be able to be shared with other configuration methods;
3. add "symbol's value shown" support for gconfig/xconfig/config;

Quoted 6 lines

    0001-add-symbol-value-to-help-find-the-real-depend.patch
    0002-add-menu_get_ext_help-function-to-display-more-infor.patch
    0003-menuconfig-improvements.patch
    0004-make-use-of-menu_get_ext_help-in-gconfig.patch
    0005-make-use-of-menu_get_ext_help-in-qconfig.patch
    0006-make-use-of-menu_get_ext_help-in-make-config.patch

I fixed them all up to:
1) include "kconfig:" prefix in subject
2) cc: of Roman Zippel which is kconfig maintainer

There were a few checkpatch issues that I decided to ignore for now.

Quoted 3 lines

Please always cc: Roman on kconfig patches as he is the mintainer.

Applied to kbuild-next.git.

FWIW, I still get a segfault in gconfig (as I reported several months ago). I suppose that if it's a real issue, someone else will also see this.

---
~Randy
LPC 2009, Sept. 23-25, Portland, Oregon
http://linuxplumbersconf.org/2009/

Quoted 30 lines · Randy Dunlap

Quoted 26 lines · On Sat, 18 Jul 2009 09:21:38 +0200 Sam Ravnborg wrote:

Quoted 9 lines · Cheng Renquan

From: Cheng Renquan <[email protected]>

These patches improve usability of kernel configuration system,

1. add symbol's value shown accompanied in config item's help message;
2. move the real plumbing functions code from mconf.c to menu.c, make them be able to be shared with other configuration methods;
3. add "symbol's value shown" support for gconfig/xconfig/config;

Quoted 6 lines

    0001-add-symbol-value-to-help-find-the-real-depend.patch
    0002-add-menu_get_ext_help-function-to-display-more-infor.patch
    0003-menuconfig-improvements.patch
    0004-make-use-of-menu_get_ext_help-in-gconfig.patch
    0005-make-use-of-menu_get_ext_help-in-qconfig.patch
    0006-make-use-of-menu_get_ext_help-in-make-config.patch

I fixed them all up to:
1) include "kconfig:" prefix in subject
2) cc: of Roman Zippel which is kconfig maintainer

There were a few checkpatch issues that I decided to ignore for now.

Please always cc: Roman on kconfig patches as he is the mintainer.

Applied to kbuild-next.git.

Quoted 2 lines

FWIW, I still get a segfault in gconfig (as I reported several months ago). I suppose that if it's a real issue, someone else will also see this.

I assumed it was fixed - the changelog patches did not mention any outstanding issues.

Following fix is needed.

Sam

scripts/kconfig/menu.c +2 -1

index 931d782..b74f746 100644
@@ -528,5 +528,6 @@ void menu_get_ext_help(struct menu *menu, struct gstr *help)
 	} else {
 		str_append(help, nohelp_text);
 	}
-	get_symbol_str(help, sym);
+	if (sym)
+		get_symbol_str(help, sym);
 }

Quoted 5 lines

Quoted 5 lines

---
~Randy
LPC 2009, Sept. 23-25, Portland, Oregon
http://linuxplumbersconf.org/2009/