Date: Thu, 2 Jan 2003 08:22:05 -0800 (PST)
From: "Randy.Dunlap" <rddunlap@osdl.org>
To: Bill Davidsen <davidsen@tmr.com>
cc: John Bradford <john@grabjohn.com>, <linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org>
Subject: Re: [PATCH] fix os release detection in module-init-tools-0.9.6
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Message-ID: <Pine.LNX.4.33L2.0301020818230.22868-100000@dragon.pdx.osdl.net>
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On Thu, 2 Jan 2003, Bill Davidsen wrote:

| On Wed, 1 Jan 2003, Randy.Dunlap wrote:
|
| > On Wed, 1 Jan 2003, John Bradford wrote:
| >
| > | > > | Um, you read the .config, which hopefully is stored somewhere.
| > | > > | (Although you could resurrect the /proc/config patch which goes around
| > | > > | every so often).  There are many things you can't tell by reading
| > | > > | /proc/ksyms.
| > | > >
| > | > > Right, the .config file is the answer.  And there are at least 2
| > | > > patch solutions for it, the /proc/config that Rusty mentioned, or
| > | > > the in-kernel config that Khalid Aziz and others from HP did along
| > | > > with me, and it's in 2.4.recent-ac or 2.5.recent-dcl or 2.5.recent-cgl.
| > | >
| > | > It would be useful to have a few global options perhaps included in /proc
| > | > (or wherever) on all kernels. By global I mean those which affect the
| > | > entire kernel, like preempt or smp, rather than driver options. We already
| > | > note 'tainted,' so this is not a totally new idea. It would seem that most
| > | > of the processor options could fall in this class, MCE, IOAPIC, etc.
| > | >
| > | > If the aim is to speed stability, putting any of the "whole config"
| > | > options in and defaulted on might be a step toward that.
| > |
| > | Having all of the config options in a /proc/config file would be a
| > | great help for people using my new bug database, because it would
| > | allow them to upload the .config for their current kernel even if it
| > | is not one they have compiled themselves.
| >
| > It seems that we still differ that putting them in /proc
| > is required.  I don't see a hard requirement for that as long
| > as the vmlinu[xz] or bzImage etc. file contains the config
| > strings, which is what the other mentioned patch does.
|
| The problem is that a failing kernel shouldn't be trying to get that info,
| and it would be (at least) as valuable as tainted to have a summary line
| showing the global options in the oops.

Oh, I see.  You want a few "key" options to be printed during the
oops message, similar to the Tainted flags.  Is that right?

| > They are still affixed to a particular file, and they can be
| > pulled from it whether it's the running kernel or not.
| > Putting them in /proc wastes RAM and is undesirable, at least
| > on small systems and most embedded platforms.
| So do many other optional things. That's why they're optional. Putting the
| whole .config in /proc should be optional, a few global flags like preempt
| are probably valuable enough in an oops to justify a few bytes.
|
| > However, that patch does also contain an option for putting
| > the config entries in /proc.  :)
| >
| > | At the moment, the facility to search for bugs via the config options
| > | that cause them is only useful for people who are compiling their own
| > | kernel.
|
| That one *would* be solved by a .config added to the vmlinuz file, or by a
| config list in /lib/modules/{kernel}, etc.

Sure, and people already have install scripts that copy kernels and config
files to "permanent" locations to do this (latter one).
I know that I've seen someone else mention doing this (maybe akpm) and
my install script does it also.

-- 
~Randy

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