[Buildroot] Linux and busybox-configfiles

[Arnout Vandecappelle <arnout@mind.be>]

On 27/01/13 17:08, Stephan Hoffmann wrote:
> Hello all,
>
> buildroot provides direct calls to the configuration menus for busybox
> and linux:
>
> make linux-menuconfig
> make busybox-menuconfig
>
> Additionally, there is a linux-savedefconfig make target.
>
> All these save their output in the build directory, so that all changes
> get lost when "make clean" is called. Thus I don't think that I am the
> only one who has been surprised to notice that "make busybox-menuconfig
> && make clean && make" does not have any effect on busybox's configuration.

  This is a bit a philosophical discussion: should the configuration 
files of linux, busybox, etc. be considered part of the buildroot 
configuration or not? In the former case, they should survive a 'make 
clean', in the latter case they should be removed by 'make clean'.

  I tend to agree that the package configs should be considered part of 
the buildroot config. However, if your buildroot config specifies some 
BR2_PACKAGE_BUSYBOX_CONFIG, then I would expect that after 'make clean', 
that is the config that will be used. More generically, I expect I can do:

  make foo_defconfig
  Do all kinds of weird stuff that completely messes things up
  make clean
  make

and to be back in the same state as 'make foo_defconfig; make'.


  Bottom line: I tend to say no to this patch.


> I have prepared two patches that save these config files in $(TOPDIR),
> where buildroot's own config file lives. After "make clean", these files
> are used instead of those named in the buildroot config.

  buildroot's own config lives in $(CONFIG_DIR).


  Regards,
  Arnout

> Calling "make xxx-defconfig" removes the saved config files, so that
> again the configuration from buildroot's config file is used.
>
> The same issue appears with uClibc, ct-ng and probably others, but I do
> not think that many users modify these settings.
>
> If these patches get accepted I will update the documentation, too.
>
> Kind regards
>
> Stephan
>


-- 
Arnout Vandecappelle                          arnout at mind be
Senior Embedded Software Architect            +32-16-286500
Essensium/Mind                                http://www.mind.be
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