Re: [Sheflug] SuSE 7.2 kernel source

[Alex Hudson <xxxxx [at] xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

On Monday 15 October 2001 11:21, you wrote:
> > It saves the config to a file - usually, .config in the same directory as
> > the source (/usr/local/src/linux/.config, for example). However, you can
> > call it anything you please - just making sure that the file called
> > .config (or symlink, whatever) is available for when you actually
> > compile.
>
> Yes, thanks, but not quite what I was talking about.

Ahhh.... procconfig - I didn't realise you were talking about this because....

> this is what the option help tab gives:
>
> CONFIG_PROC_CONFIG:

This isn't part of the mainline kernel (unless it slipped in without me 
watching..); it's something SuSE have obviously slapped on the side. You 
often get kernel patches applied by distributors, although SuSE, RedHat and 
Mandrake will generally apply a lot more patches than the likes of Debian, 
Slack, etc.

The reason it didn't get into Linux was because it is a problem soluable in 
userspace - copying .config to /lib/modules-*/, and possibly also the 
System.map, modules.dep, etc., for absolutely everything. It doesn't need to 
be in the kernel, basically, although some might suggest it handier to be in 
a /proc bundle.

> Yep, doing that.  but file loading/saving under xconfig seems buggy.
> I've had error messages complaining that no value was set for some options.

The sounds like it could be something to do with the extra patches SuSE slap 
on - I've never had that problem with a stock kernel, except where loading an 
old configuration.

BTW - it was asked whether make oldconfig was a valid way of building new 
kernels. Yes it is, although obviously going over major kernel versions is 
likely to be a lot more problematic, if it works. It's up to you to decide 
what's a major kernel version these days though :)

Cheers,
				Alex.
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