Messages in this thread | | | Date | Thu, 28 Feb 2008 14:45:05 -0500 | From | Bill Davidsen <> | Subject | Re: [PATCH] More accessible usage of custom flags |
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Nicholas Marquez wrote: > I submitted this patch to the zen-sources Gentoo community and got > much praise and has promptly been included. This kind of thing have > very likely already been done in other patchsets, but I haven't seen > it around, so I've gone ahead and made one. The idea is that one can > enable -Os and various other options transparently through standard > kernel configuration, so why bar the builder from any other options to > pass on to gcc (et al)? One can indeed add one's own flags in the > Makefile, but this method is a good deal friendlier. Granted, this > could be misused by ricers and idiots, but they'll get themselves into > that mess all of their own fault and we'll all go on our merry ways. > It just seems that much use could be made out of this, both in terms > of (sane) optimizations and easier access to enhanced debugging > opportunities. > > I see that people who build a Linux kernel are largely of two types: > ~the ones that understand and know enough that they could, with some > nudging and learning, become bonafide kernel devs and > ~the ones that understand it to some very basic degree and can get > through configuring it without too much trouble (though with limited > understanding) > I believe one of the very simple things that can be addressed is to > make the kernel more "accessible" without harming its integrity or > functionality. This involves trying to fill the gap between those two > types of people, allowing there to be more understanding, > configuration, and (down the line) development opportunities within > the kernel to better ease these people into learning enough to begin > contributing back. More developers can only be a Good Thing (tm). > Though a haughty and abstract opinion/goal/thought of mine, this patch > conforms to it and I think that with minimal effort such a vision > could be implemented. Whilst all other kernel devs are hacking away > at the rough and tumultuous innards of the kernel, a few people of > less confidence and experience (people like me) could polish the > outside to make it more appealing to more people. So that eventually > they too will sink below the surface and join the party. > > Anyway, I'm not quite sure that my implementation is as clean as it > could be and any feedback is certainly welcome. This is my first time > posting to LKML, so I fully expect to be shot down anyway. > It seems to make access to these features easier, and I really don't see that it is going to create a higher number of posts here, the "I did X and..." posts might go up, and the "How do I..." post might go down, and I doubt either will change enough to notice.
-- Bill Davidsen <davidsen@tmr.com> "We have more to fear from the bungling of the incompetent than from the machinations of the wicked." - from Slashdot
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