Re: [PATCH] tools: Use builtin $(abspath ...) instead of $(shell cd ... && pwd)

Maciej W. Rozycki
2016-04-18T15:17:30Z

On Mon, 18 Apr 2016, Thierry Reding wrote:

> > > Avoid forking off a shell to resolve the absolute path of the output
> > > directory when make's builtin $(abspath ...) function will do an
> > > adequate job.
> >
> > The abspath function is not available in make 3.80.
>
> Do we really support make 3.80? It was released in 2002 and 3.81
> followed in April 2006. That makes it a decade old now. I'd be surprised
> if anyone was still using it to build recent kernels.
>
> Is there a formal process for increasing the dependencies listed in
> Documentation/Changes? Should I simply make that change as part of this
> patch? Do we need broad approval?

Hmm, what problem are you trying to solve here? Your proposal looks to
me like a gratuitous requirement for users to upgrade their tool (its age
doesn't matter), which is often a burden and in any case requires extra
time which could be used for something else. Don't fix what ain't broke!

Maciej