Platform configuration (was: Re: CONFIG_PPC != Mac)

[Geert Uytterhoeven]

On Thu, 31 Aug 2000, Gabriel Paubert wrote:
> On Thu, 31 Aug 2000, Geert Uytterhoeven wrote:
> > My interest is in smaller kernel images. I don't want to compile every single
> > piece of PPC code that's useless for my hardware, I want to compile only what
> > I need. I think I'm already wasting too much of my time waiting for kernel
> > compiles.
>
> And you `make {x,menu,old,}config' to take longer than `make zimage' ?

Real men use `vi .config', delete some lines and type `make oldconfig' :-)

> First, kernel compile times are only fairly large after a big update, when
> I do `make dep clean zImage'. Second, the proportion of time spend in the
> specific PPC code (mostly arch/ppc and drivers/macintosh) is rather small.
> Third, building a minimal kernel image for each machine would involve a
> ton (and that's an undrestatement) of kernel options: CONFIG_INTC_8259,
> CONFIG_INTC_POWERMAC, CONFIG_INTC_OPENPIC and others for the interrupt
> controllers, half a dozen or so CONFIG_RTC types, same for CONFIG_NVRAM
> and a few other things I surely forget. The only reasonable solution is to
> aim for the smallest runtime kernel image.

Hmm... Now you make me think of something :-) What about drivers/intctrl/ to
share all code for interrupt controllers? Almost all archs have their own
i8259 code...

> > And since there are people who care about embedded PPC systems, it would be
> > great to at least have _the choice_ to compile a small specific kernel or a
> > large generic one.
>
> Then build an utility which trims the kernel the same way as the smart
> bootloader would do. People with embedded systems know what their target
> systems is and could use it, but please don't add another couple of
> hundred entries in the basic Linux kernel configuration.
  ^^^^^^^
Please don't exaggerate! I'd be happy with the 4 extra questions for
PReP, CHRP, PowerMac and MTX only (for now).

Gr{oetje,eeting}s,

						Geert

--
Geert Uytterhoeven -- There's lots of Linux beyond ia32 -- geert at linux-m68k.org

In personal conversations with technical people, I call myself a hacker. But
when I'm talking to journalists I just say "programmer" or something like that.
							    -- Linus Torvalds


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