[PATCH] usr/gen_initramfs.sh: (cosmetic) improve comments and formatting

[PATCH] usr/gen_initramfs.sh: (cosmetic) improve comments and formatting

[Jack Grube]

This patch rewrites comments to be more descriptive and as complete sentences;
it also tweaks the usage function's output is also adjusted to make it more readable
when using the -h flag.
I ran the script with the -h option to verify that the usage output remains correct,
but no other testing was performed as no core logic was changed.
Lastly, I added an SPDX license identifier for any tools that may depend on that.
I welcome feedback there are any areas for improvement.


diff --git a/usr/gen_initramfs.sh b/usr/gen_initramfs.sh
index 4490d496f374..7eba2fddf0ef 100755
--- a/usr/gen_initramfs.sh
+++ b/usr/gen_initramfs.sh
@@ -1,8 +1,8 @@
 #!/bin/sh
-# SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0-or-later
 # Copyright (C) Martin Schlemmer <azarah@nosferatu.za.org>
 # Copyright (C) 2006 Sam Ravnborg <sam@ravnborg.org>
-# Released under the terms of the GNU GPL.
+#
+# Released under the terms of the GNU GPL
 #
 # Generate a cpio packed initramfs. It uses gen_init_cpio to generate
 # the cpio archive.
@@ -18,15 +18,15 @@ $0 [-o <file>] [-l <dep_list>] [-u <uid>] [-g <gid>] {-d | <cpio_source>} ...
      -o <file>      Create initramfs file named <file> by using gen_init_cpio
      -l <dep_list>  Create dependency list named <dep_list>
      -u <uid>       User ID to map to user ID 0 (root).
-                    <uid> is only meaningful if <cpio_source> is a
-                    directory.  "squash" forces all files to uid 0.
+                  <uid> is only meaningful if <cpio_source> is a
+                  directory.  "squash" forces all files to uid 0.
      -g <gid>       Group ID to map to group ID 0 (root).
-                    <gid> is only meaningful if <cpio_source> is a
-                    directory.  "squash" forces all files to gid 0.
+                  <gid> is only meaningful if <cpio_source> is a
+                  directory.  "squash" forces all files to gid 0.
      -d <date>      Use date for all file mtime values
      <cpio_source>  File list or directory for cpio archive.
-                    If <cpio_source> is a .cpio file it will be used
-                    as direct input to initramfs.
+                  If <cpio_source> is a .cpio file it will be used
+                  as direct input to initramfs.
 
 All options except -o and -l may be repeated and are interpreted
 sequentially and immediately.  -u and -g states are preserved across
@@ -35,9 +35,8 @@ to reset the root/group mapping.
 EOF
 }
 
-
 # awk style field access
-# $1 -- field number; the rest is the argument string.
+# $1 - field number; rest is argument string
 field() {
      shift $1 ; echo $1
 }
@@ -45,7 +44,7 @@ field() {
 filetype() {
      local argv1="$1"
 
-     # The symlink test must come before the file test.
+     # symlink test must come before file test
      if [ -L "${argv1}" ]; then
            echo "slink"
      elif [ -f "${argv1}" ]; then
@@ -82,9 +81,9 @@ list_parse() {
      echo "$1" | sed 's/:/\\:/g; s/$/ \\/' >> $dep_list
 }
 
-# For each file, print a line in following format:
+# for each file print a line in following format
 # <filetype> <name> <path to file> <octal mode> <uid> <gid>
-# For links, devices, etc., the format differs. See gen_init_cpio for details.
+# for links, devices etc the format differs. See gen_init_cpio for details
 parse() {
      local location="$1"
      local name="/${location#${srcdir}}"
@@ -144,14 +143,14 @@ header() {
      printf "\n#####################\n# $1\n" >> $cpio_list
 }
 
-# Process one directory (including sub-directories).
+# process one directory (incl sub-directories)
 dir_filelist() {
      header "$1"
 
      srcdir=$(echo "$1" | sed -e 's://*:/:g')
      dirlist=$(find "${srcdir}" -printf "%p %m %U %G\n" | LC_ALL=C sort)
 
-     # If $dirlist is only one line, then the directory is empty.
+     # If $dirlist is only one line, then the directory is empty
      if [  "$(echo "${dirlist}" | wc -l)" -gt 1 ]; then
            print_mtime "$1"
 
@@ -180,7 +179,7 @@ input_file() {
                  done
            fi
      elif [ -d "$1" ]; then
-           # If a directory is specified, then add all files in it to the file system.
+           # If a directory is specified then add all files in it to fs
            dir_filelist "$1"
      else
            echo "  ${prog}: Cannot open '$1'" >&2
@@ -203,26 +202,26 @@ while [ $# -gt 0 ]; do
      arg="$1"
      shift
      case "$arg" in
-           "-l") # files included in initramfs--used by kbuild
+           "-l") # files included in initramfs - used by kbuild
                  dep_list="$1"
                  echo "deps_initramfs := \\" > $dep_list
                  shift
                  ;;
-           "-o") # Generate a cpio image named $1.
+           "-o") # generate cpio image named $1
                  output="-o $1"
                  shift
                  ;;
-           "-u") # Map $1 to uid=0 (root).
+           "-u") # map $1 to uid=0 (root)
                  root_uid="$1"
                  [ "$root_uid" = "-1" ] && root_uid=$(id -u || echo 0)
                  shift
                  ;;
-           "-g") # Map $1 to gid=0 (root).
+           "-g") # map $1 to gid=0 (root)
                  root_gid="$1"
                  [ "$root_gid" = "-1" ] && root_gid=$(id -g || echo 0)
                  shift
                  ;;
-           "-d") # Date for file mtimes
+           "-d") # date for file mtimes
                  timestamp="$(date -d"$1" +%s || :)"
                  if test -n "$timestamp"; then
                        timestamp="-t $timestamp"
@@ -238,7 +237,7 @@ while [ $# -gt 0 ]; do
                        "-"*)
                              unknown_option
                              ;;
-                       *)    # input file/dir -- process it
+                       *)    # input file/dir - process it
                              input_file "$arg"
                              ;;
                  esac
@@ -246,6 +245,6 @@ while [ $# -gt 0 ]; do
      esac
 done
 
-# If the output_file is set, we will generate cpio archive.
-# We are careful to delete tmp files.
+# If output_file is set we will generate cpio archive
+# we are careful to delete tmp files
 usr/gen_init_cpio $output $timestamp $cpio_list

Re: [PATCH] usr/gen_initramfs.sh: (cosmetic) improve comments and formatting

[Grube, Jack]

I heartily apologize for the double email. I got the order of
arguments mixed up when using git format-patch the first time. This is
the correct patch.

Signed-off-by: Jack Grube <jrg72@njit.edu>
---
 usr/gen_initramfs.sh | 48 +++++++++++++++++++++++---------------------
 1 file changed, 25 insertions(+), 23 deletions(-)

diff --git a/usr/gen_initramfs.sh b/usr/gen_initramfs.sh
index 7eba2fddf0ef..ff8ddd373fc1 100755
--- a/usr/gen_initramfs.sh
+++ b/usr/gen_initramfs.sh
@@ -1,8 +1,9 @@
 #!/bin/sh
+# SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0-or-later
 # Copyright (C) Martin Schlemmer <azarah@nosferatu.za.org>
 # Copyright (C) 2006 Sam Ravnborg <sam@ravnborg.org>
-#
-# Released under the terms of the GNU GPL
+
+# Released under the terms of the GNU GPL.
 #
 # Generate a cpio packed initramfs. It uses gen_init_cpio to generate
 # the cpio archive.
@@ -18,15 +19,15 @@ $0 [-o <file>] [-l <dep_list>] [-u <uid>] [-g
<gid>] {-d | <cpio_source>} ...
    -o <file>      Create initramfs file named <file> by using gen_init_cpio
    -l <dep_list>  Create dependency list named <dep_list>
    -u <uid>       User ID to map to user ID 0 (root).
-              <uid> is only meaningful if <cpio_source> is a
-              directory.  "squash" forces all files to uid 0.
+                  <uid> is only meaningful if <cpio_source> is a
+                  directory.  "squash" forces all files to uid 0.
    -g <gid>       Group ID to map to group ID 0 (root).
-              <gid> is only meaningful if <cpio_source> is a
-              directory.  "squash" forces all files to gid 0.
+                  <gid> is only meaningful if <cpio_source> is a
+                  directory.  "squash" forces all files to gid 0.
    -d <date>      Use date for all file mtime values
    <cpio_source>  File list or directory for cpio archive.
-              If <cpio_source> is a .cpio file it will be used
-              as direct input to initramfs.
+                  If <cpio_source> is a .cpio file it will be used
+                  as direct input to initramfs.

 All options except -o and -l may be repeated and are interpreted
 sequentially and immediately.  -u and -g states are preserved across
@@ -35,8 +36,9 @@ to reset the root/group mapping.
 EOF
 }

+
 # awk style field access
-# $1 - field number; rest is argument string
+# $1 -- field number; the rest is the argument string.
 field() {
    shift $1 ; echo $1
 }
@@ -44,7 +46,7 @@ field() {
 filetype() {
    local argv1="$1"

-   # symlink test must come before file test
+   # The symlink test must come before the file test.
    if [ -L "${argv1}" ]; then
        echo "slink"
    elif [ -f "${argv1}" ]; then
@@ -81,9 +83,9 @@ list_parse() {
    echo "$1" | sed 's/:/\\:/g; s/$/ \\/' >> $dep_list
 }

-# for each file print a line in following format
+# For each file, print a line in following format:
 # <filetype> <name> <path to file> <octal mode> <uid> <gid>
-# for links, devices etc the format differs. See gen_init_cpio for details
+# For links, devices, etc., the format differs. See gen_init_cpio for details.
 parse() {
    local location="$1"
    local name="/${location#${srcdir}}"
@@ -143,14 +145,14 @@ header() {
    printf "\n#####################\n# $1\n" >> $cpio_list
 }

-# process one directory (incl sub-directories)
+# Process one directory (including sub-directories).
 dir_filelist() {
    header "$1"

    srcdir=$(echo "$1" | sed -e 's://*:/:g')
    dirlist=$(find "${srcdir}" -printf "%p %m %U %G\n" | LC_ALL=C sort)

-   # If $dirlist is only one line, then the directory is empty
+   # If $dirlist is only one line, then the directory is empty.
    if [  "$(echo "${dirlist}" | wc -l)" -gt 1 ]; then
        print_mtime "$1"

@@ -179,7 +181,7 @@ input_file() {
            done
        fi
    elif [ -d "$1" ]; then
-       # If a directory is specified then add all files in it to fs
+       # If a directory is specified, then add all files in it to the
file system.
        dir_filelist "$1"
    else
        echo "  ${prog}: Cannot open '$1'" >&2
@@ -202,26 +204,26 @@ while [ $# -gt 0 ]; do
    arg="$1"
    shift
    case "$arg" in
-       "-l")   # files included in initramfs - used by kbuild
+       "-l")   # files included in initramfs--used by kbuild
            dep_list="$1"
            echo "deps_initramfs := \\" > $dep_list
            shift
            ;;
-       "-o")   # generate cpio image named $1
+       "-o")   # Generate a cpio image named $1.
            output="-o $1"
            shift
            ;;
-       "-u")   # map $1 to uid=0 (root)
+       "-u")   # Map $1 to uid=0 (root).
            root_uid="$1"
            [ "$root_uid" = "-1" ] && root_uid=$(id -u || echo 0)
            shift
            ;;
-       "-g")   # map $1 to gid=0 (root)
+       "-g")   # Map $1 to gid=0 (root).
            root_gid="$1"
            [ "$root_gid" = "-1" ] && root_gid=$(id -g || echo 0)
            shift
            ;;
-       "-d")   # date for file mtimes
+       "-d")   # Date for file mtimes
            timestamp="$(date -d"$1" +%s || :)"
            if test -n "$timestamp"; then
                timestamp="-t $timestamp"
@@ -237,7 +239,7 @@ while [ $# -gt 0 ]; do
                "-"*)
                    unknown_option
                    ;;
-               *)  # input file/dir - process it
+               *)  # input file/dir -- process it
                    input_file "$arg"
                    ;;
            esac
@@ -245,6 +247,6 @@ while [ $# -gt 0 ]; do
    esac
 done

-# If output_file is set we will generate cpio archive
-# we are careful to delete tmp files
+# If the output_file is set, we will generate cpio archive.
+# We are careful to delete tmp files.
 usr/gen_init_cpio $output $timestamp $cpio_list
--
Jack Grube


On Wed, Nov 5, 2025 at 1:06 PM Jack Grube <jrg72@njit.edu> wrote:
>
> This patch rewrites comments to be more descriptive and as complete sentences;
> it also tweaks the usage function's output is also adjusted to make it more readable
> when using the -h flag.
> I ran the script with the -h option to verify that the usage output remains correct,
> but no other testing was performed as no core logic was changed.
> Lastly, I added an SPDX license identifier for any tools that may depend on that.
> I welcome feedback there are any areas for improvement.
>
>
> diff --git a/usr/gen_initramfs.sh b/usr/gen_initramfs.sh
> index 4490d496f374..7eba2fddf0ef 100755
> --- a/usr/gen_initramfs.sh
> +++ b/usr/gen_initramfs.sh
> @@ -1,8 +1,8 @@
>  #!/bin/sh
> -# SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0-or-later
>  # Copyright (C) Martin Schlemmer <azarah@nosferatu.za.org>
>  # Copyright (C) 2006 Sam Ravnborg <sam@ravnborg.org>
> -# Released under the terms of the GNU GPL.
> +#
> +# Released under the terms of the GNU GPL
>  #
>  # Generate a cpio packed initramfs. It uses gen_init_cpio to generate
>  # the cpio archive.
> @@ -18,15 +18,15 @@ $0 [-o <file>] [-l <dep_list>] [-u <uid>] [-g <gid>] {-d | <cpio_source>} ...
>       -o <file>      Create initramfs file named <file> by using gen_init_cpio
>       -l <dep_list>  Create dependency list named <dep_list>
>       -u <uid>       User ID to map to user ID 0 (root).
> -                    <uid> is only meaningful if <cpio_source> is a
> -                    directory.  "squash" forces all files to uid 0.
> +                  <uid> is only meaningful if <cpio_source> is a
> +                  directory.  "squash" forces all files to uid 0.
>       -g <gid>       Group ID to map to group ID 0 (root).
> -                    <gid> is only meaningful if <cpio_source> is a
> -                    directory.  "squash" forces all files to gid 0.
> +                  <gid> is only meaningful if <cpio_source> is a
> +                  directory.  "squash" forces all files to gid 0.
>       -d <date>      Use date for all file mtime values
>       <cpio_source>  File list or directory for cpio archive.
> -                    If <cpio_source> is a .cpio file it will be used
> -                    as direct input to initramfs.
> +                  If <cpio_source> is a .cpio file it will be used
> +                  as direct input to initramfs.
>
>  All options except -o and -l may be repeated and are interpreted
>  sequentially and immediately.  -u and -g states are preserved across
> @@ -35,9 +35,8 @@ to reset the root/group mapping.
>  EOF
>  }
>
> -
>  # awk style field access
> -# $1 -- field number; the rest is the argument string.
> +# $1 - field number; rest is argument string
>  field() {
>       shift $1 ; echo $1
>  }
> @@ -45,7 +44,7 @@ field() {
>  filetype() {
>       local argv1="$1"
>
> -     # The symlink test must come before the file test.
> +     # symlink test must come before file test
>       if [ -L "${argv1}" ]; then
>             echo "slink"
>       elif [ -f "${argv1}" ]; then
> @@ -82,9 +81,9 @@ list_parse() {
>       echo "$1" | sed 's/:/\\:/g; s/$/ \\/' >> $dep_list
>  }
>
> -# For each file, print a line in following format:
> +# for each file print a line in following format
>  # <filetype> <name> <path to file> <octal mode> <uid> <gid>
> -# For links, devices, etc., the format differs. See gen_init_cpio for details.
> +# for links, devices etc the format differs. See gen_init_cpio for details
>  parse() {
>       local location="$1"
>       local name="/${location#${srcdir}}"
> @@ -144,14 +143,14 @@ header() {
>       printf "\n#####################\n# $1\n" >> $cpio_list
>  }
>
> -# Process one directory (including sub-directories).
> +# process one directory (incl sub-directories)
>  dir_filelist() {
>       header "$1"
>
>       srcdir=$(echo "$1" | sed -e 's://*:/:g')
>       dirlist=$(find "${srcdir}" -printf "%p %m %U %G\n" | LC_ALL=C sort)
>
> -     # If $dirlist is only one line, then the directory is empty.
> +     # If $dirlist is only one line, then the directory is empty
>       if [  "$(echo "${dirlist}" | wc -l)" -gt 1 ]; then
>             print_mtime "$1"
>
> @@ -180,7 +179,7 @@ input_file() {
>                   done
>             fi
>       elif [ -d "$1" ]; then
> -           # If a directory is specified, then add all files in it to the file system.
> +           # If a directory is specified then add all files in it to fs
>             dir_filelist "$1"
>       else
>             echo "  ${prog}: Cannot open '$1'" >&2
> @@ -203,26 +202,26 @@ while [ $# -gt 0 ]; do
>       arg="$1"
>       shift
>       case "$arg" in
> -           "-l") # files included in initramfs--used by kbuild
> +           "-l") # files included in initramfs - used by kbuild
>                   dep_list="$1"
>                   echo "deps_initramfs := \\" > $dep_list
>                   shift
>                   ;;
> -           "-o") # Generate a cpio image named $1.
> +           "-o") # generate cpio image named $1
>                   output="-o $1"
>                   shift
>                   ;;
> -           "-u") # Map $1 to uid=0 (root).
> +           "-u") # map $1 to uid=0 (root)
>                   root_uid="$1"
>                   [ "$root_uid" = "-1" ] && root_uid=$(id -u || echo 0)
>                   shift
>                   ;;
> -           "-g") # Map $1 to gid=0 (root).
> +           "-g") # map $1 to gid=0 (root)
>                   root_gid="$1"
>                   [ "$root_gid" = "-1" ] && root_gid=$(id -g || echo 0)
>                   shift
>                   ;;
> -           "-d") # Date for file mtimes
> +           "-d") # date for file mtimes
>                   timestamp="$(date -d"$1" +%s || :)"
>                   if test -n "$timestamp"; then
>                         timestamp="-t $timestamp"
> @@ -238,7 +237,7 @@ while [ $# -gt 0 ]; do
>                         "-"*)
>                               unknown_option
>                               ;;
> -                       *)    # input file/dir -- process it
> +                       *)    # input file/dir - process it
>                               input_file "$arg"
>                               ;;
>                   esac
> @@ -246,6 +245,6 @@ while [ $# -gt 0 ]; do
>       esac
>  done
>
> -# If the output_file is set, we will generate cpio archive.
> -# We are careful to delete tmp files.
> +# If output_file is set we will generate cpio archive
> +# we are careful to delete tmp files
>  usr/gen_init_cpio $output $timestamp $cpio_list
>


-- 
Jack Grube
B.S. Computer Science, 2026.
Ying Wu College of Computing, NJIT.
Secretary — Newman Catholic Club, 2023–24; President 2024–26

Re: [PATCH] usr/gen_initramfs.sh: (cosmetic) improve comments and formatting

[Nicolas Schier]

Hi Jack,

On Wed, Nov 05, 2025 at 01:27:32PM -0500, Grube, Jack wrote:
> I heartily apologize for the double email. I got the order of
> arguments mixed up when using git format-patch the first time. This is
> the correct patch.
> 
> Signed-off-by: Jack Grube <jrg72@njit.edu>

thanks for your contribution and sorry for the long delay.  Common
practise of Linux patch submissions obeys several rules (cp. [1] and
other documents in that folder), for example:

  * send logically independent changes as separate patches
    (here for example: SPDX header; code indentation; re-formatting of
    comments)

  * describe the changes for each patch (what problem you want to fix,
    why each patch is important and shall be applied).

[1]: Documentation/process/submitting-patches.rst

Iff you might send another patch (set), please make use of '--dry-run'
or similar options to check your patches prior to sending them out.

`scripts/get_maintainer.pl --email --no-rolestats` helps obtaining a
list of reasonable patch mail receipients.

> ---
>  usr/gen_initramfs.sh | 48 +++++++++++++++++++++++---------------------
>  1 file changed, 25 insertions(+), 23 deletions(-)
> 
> diff --git a/usr/gen_initramfs.sh b/usr/gen_initramfs.sh
> index 7eba2fddf0ef..ff8ddd373fc1 100755
> --- a/usr/gen_initramfs.sh
> +++ b/usr/gen_initramfs.sh
> @@ -1,8 +1,9 @@
>  #!/bin/sh
> +# SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0-or-later

Good catch.  To my own surprise, there are even more files below usr/
that are missing SPDX headers.

Please put SPDX header addition into a separate patch.

>  # Copyright (C) Martin Schlemmer <azarah@nosferatu.za.org>
>  # Copyright (C) 2006 Sam Ravnborg <sam@ravnborg.org>
> -#
> -# Released under the terms of the GNU GPL
> +
> +# Released under the terms of the GNU GPL.

I don't think that this a relevant enhancement.

>  #
>  # Generate a cpio packed initramfs. It uses gen_init_cpio to generate
>  # the cpio archive.
> @@ -18,15 +19,15 @@ $0 [-o <file>] [-l <dep_list>] [-u <uid>] [-g
> <gid>] {-d | <cpio_source>} ...
>     -o <file>      Create initramfs file named <file> by using gen_init_cpio
>     -l <dep_list>  Create dependency list named <dep_list>
>     -u <uid>       User ID to map to user ID 0 (root).
> -              <uid> is only meaningful if <cpio_source> is a
> -              directory.  "squash" forces all files to uid 0.
> +                  <uid> is only meaningful if <cpio_source> is a
> +                  directory.  "squash" forces all files to uid 0.
>     -g <gid>       Group ID to map to group ID 0 (root).
> -              <gid> is only meaningful if <cpio_source> is a
> -              directory.  "squash" forces all files to gid 0.
> +                  <gid> is only meaningful if <cpio_source> is a
> +                  directory.  "squash" forces all files to gid 0.
>     -d <date>      Use date for all file mtime values
>     <cpio_source>  File list or directory for cpio archive.
> -              If <cpio_source> is a .cpio file it will be used
> -              as direct input to initramfs.
> +                  If <cpio_source> is a .cpio file it will be used
> +                  as direct input to initramfs.

This patch is not applicable, did you generate it properly with 'git
format-patch' or something similar?  usr/gen_initramfs.sh starts with
one or two tabs in these lines, your patch does not match that.

(And it seems to me, that your editor settings might be suboptimal for
kernel code; please use a tab size of 8 characters if you want to
optimise indenting.)

> 
>  All options except -o and -l may be repeated and are interpreted
>  sequentially and immediately.  -u and -g states are preserved across
> @@ -35,8 +36,9 @@ to reset the root/group mapping.
>  EOF
>  }
> 
> +

Please do not add arbitrary empty lines.

>  # awk style field access
> -# $1 - field number; rest is argument string
> +# $1 -- field number; the rest is the argument string.

While I think that most of your changes in the comments (this one and
the remaining) are correct, I am not convinced that it's worth the
effort.


Kind regards,
Nicolas



>  field() {
>     shift $1 ; echo $1
>  }
> @@ -44,7 +46,7 @@ field() {
>  filetype() {
>     local argv1="$1"
> 
> -   # symlink test must come before file test
> +   # The symlink test must come before the file test.
>     if [ -L "${argv1}" ]; then
>         echo "slink"
>     elif [ -f "${argv1}" ]; then
> @@ -81,9 +83,9 @@ list_parse() {
>     echo "$1" | sed 's/:/\\:/g; s/$/ \\/' >> $dep_list
>  }
> 
> -# for each file print a line in following format
> +# For each file, print a line in following format:
>  # <filetype> <name> <path to file> <octal mode> <uid> <gid>
> -# for links, devices etc the format differs. See gen_init_cpio for details
> +# For links, devices, etc., the format differs. See gen_init_cpio for details.
>  parse() {
>     local location="$1"
>     local name="/${location#${srcdir}}"
> @@ -143,14 +145,14 @@ header() {
>     printf "\n#####################\n# $1\n" >> $cpio_list
>  }
> 
> -# process one directory (incl sub-directories)
> +# Process one directory (including sub-directories).
>  dir_filelist() {
>     header "$1"
> 
>     srcdir=$(echo "$1" | sed -e 's://*:/:g')
>     dirlist=$(find "${srcdir}" -printf "%p %m %U %G\n" | LC_ALL=C sort)
> 
> -   # If $dirlist is only one line, then the directory is empty
> +   # If $dirlist is only one line, then the directory is empty.
>     if [  "$(echo "${dirlist}" | wc -l)" -gt 1 ]; then
>         print_mtime "$1"
> 
> @@ -179,7 +181,7 @@ input_file() {
>             done
>         fi
>     elif [ -d "$1" ]; then
> -       # If a directory is specified then add all files in it to fs
> +       # If a directory is specified, then add all files in it to the
> file system.
>         dir_filelist "$1"
>     else
>         echo "  ${prog}: Cannot open '$1'" >&2
> @@ -202,26 +204,26 @@ while [ $# -gt 0 ]; do
>     arg="$1"
>     shift
>     case "$arg" in
> -       "-l")   # files included in initramfs - used by kbuild
> +       "-l")   # files included in initramfs--used by kbuild
>             dep_list="$1"
>             echo "deps_initramfs := \\" > $dep_list
>             shift
>             ;;
> -       "-o")   # generate cpio image named $1
> +       "-o")   # Generate a cpio image named $1.
>             output="-o $1"
>             shift
>             ;;
> -       "-u")   # map $1 to uid=0 (root)
> +       "-u")   # Map $1 to uid=0 (root).
>             root_uid="$1"
>             [ "$root_uid" = "-1" ] && root_uid=$(id -u || echo 0)
>             shift
>             ;;
> -       "-g")   # map $1 to gid=0 (root)
> +       "-g")   # Map $1 to gid=0 (root).
>             root_gid="$1"
>             [ "$root_gid" = "-1" ] && root_gid=$(id -g || echo 0)
>             shift
>             ;;
> -       "-d")   # date for file mtimes
> +       "-d")   # Date for file mtimes
>             timestamp="$(date -d"$1" +%s || :)"
>             if test -n "$timestamp"; then
>                 timestamp="-t $timestamp"
> @@ -237,7 +239,7 @@ while [ $# -gt 0 ]; do
>                 "-"*)
>                     unknown_option
>                     ;;
> -               *)  # input file/dir - process it
> +               *)  # input file/dir -- process it
>                     input_file "$arg"
>                     ;;
>             esac
> @@ -245,6 +247,6 @@ while [ $# -gt 0 ]; do
>     esac
>  done
> 
> -# If output_file is set we will generate cpio archive
> -# we are careful to delete tmp files
> +# If the output_file is set, we will generate cpio archive.
> +# We are careful to delete tmp files.
>  usr/gen_init_cpio $output $timestamp $cpio_list
> --
> Jack Grube
> 
> 
> On Wed, Nov 5, 2025 at 1:06 PM Jack Grube <jrg72@njit.edu> wrote:
> >
> > This patch rewrites comments to be more descriptive and as complete sentences;
> > it also tweaks the usage function's output is also adjusted to make it more readable
> > when using the -h flag.
> > I ran the script with the -h option to verify that the usage output remains correct,
> > but no other testing was performed as no core logic was changed.
> > Lastly, I added an SPDX license identifier for any tools that may depend on that.
> > I welcome feedback there are any areas for improvement.
> >
> >
> > diff --git a/usr/gen_initramfs.sh b/usr/gen_initramfs.sh
> > index 4490d496f374..7eba2fddf0ef 100755
> > --- a/usr/gen_initramfs.sh
> > +++ b/usr/gen_initramfs.sh
> > @@ -1,8 +1,8 @@
> >  #!/bin/sh
> > -# SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0-or-later
> >  # Copyright (C) Martin Schlemmer <azarah@nosferatu.za.org>
> >  # Copyright (C) 2006 Sam Ravnborg <sam@ravnborg.org>
> > -# Released under the terms of the GNU GPL.
> > +#
> > +# Released under the terms of the GNU GPL
> >  #
> >  # Generate a cpio packed initramfs. It uses gen_init_cpio to generate
> >  # the cpio archive.
> > @@ -18,15 +18,15 @@ $0 [-o <file>] [-l <dep_list>] [-u <uid>] [-g <gid>] {-d | <cpio_source>} ...
> >       -o <file>      Create initramfs file named <file> by using gen_init_cpio
> >       -l <dep_list>  Create dependency list named <dep_list>
> >       -u <uid>       User ID to map to user ID 0 (root).
> > -                    <uid> is only meaningful if <cpio_source> is a
> > -                    directory.  "squash" forces all files to uid 0.
> > +                  <uid> is only meaningful if <cpio_source> is a
> > +                  directory.  "squash" forces all files to uid 0.
> >       -g <gid>       Group ID to map to group ID 0 (root).
> > -                    <gid> is only meaningful if <cpio_source> is a
> > -                    directory.  "squash" forces all files to gid 0.
> > +                  <gid> is only meaningful if <cpio_source> is a
> > +                  directory.  "squash" forces all files to gid 0.
> >       -d <date>      Use date for all file mtime values
> >       <cpio_source>  File list or directory for cpio archive.
> > -                    If <cpio_source> is a .cpio file it will be used
> > -                    as direct input to initramfs.
> > +                  If <cpio_source> is a .cpio file it will be used
> > +                  as direct input to initramfs.
> >
> >  All options except -o and -l may be repeated and are interpreted
> >  sequentially and immediately.  -u and -g states are preserved across
> > @@ -35,9 +35,8 @@ to reset the root/group mapping.
> >  EOF
> >  }
> >
> > -
> >  # awk style field access
> > -# $1 -- field number; the rest is the argument string.
> > +# $1 - field number; rest is argument string
> >  field() {
> >       shift $1 ; echo $1
> >  }
> > @@ -45,7 +44,7 @@ field() {
> >  filetype() {
> >       local argv1="$1"
> >
> > -     # The symlink test must come before the file test.
> > +     # symlink test must come before file test
> >       if [ -L "${argv1}" ]; then
> >             echo "slink"
> >       elif [ -f "${argv1}" ]; then
> > @@ -82,9 +81,9 @@ list_parse() {
> >       echo "$1" | sed 's/:/\\:/g; s/$/ \\/' >> $dep_list
> >  }
> >
> > -# For each file, print a line in following format:
> > +# for each file print a line in following format
> >  # <filetype> <name> <path to file> <octal mode> <uid> <gid>
> > -# For links, devices, etc., the format differs. See gen_init_cpio for details.
> > +# for links, devices etc the format differs. See gen_init_cpio for details
> >  parse() {
> >       local location="$1"
> >       local name="/${location#${srcdir}}"
> > @@ -144,14 +143,14 @@ header() {
> >       printf "\n#####################\n# $1\n" >> $cpio_list
> >  }
> >
> > -# Process one directory (including sub-directories).
> > +# process one directory (incl sub-directories)
> >  dir_filelist() {
> >       header "$1"
> >
> >       srcdir=$(echo "$1" | sed -e 's://*:/:g')
> >       dirlist=$(find "${srcdir}" -printf "%p %m %U %G\n" | LC_ALL=C sort)
> >
> > -     # If $dirlist is only one line, then the directory is empty.
> > +     # If $dirlist is only one line, then the directory is empty
> >       if [  "$(echo "${dirlist}" | wc -l)" -gt 1 ]; then
> >             print_mtime "$1"
> >
> > @@ -180,7 +179,7 @@ input_file() {
> >                   done
> >             fi
> >       elif [ -d "$1" ]; then
> > -           # If a directory is specified, then add all files in it to the file system.
> > +           # If a directory is specified then add all files in it to fs
> >             dir_filelist "$1"
> >       else
> >             echo "  ${prog}: Cannot open '$1'" >&2
> > @@ -203,26 +202,26 @@ while [ $# -gt 0 ]; do
> >       arg="$1"
> >       shift
> >       case "$arg" in
> > -           "-l") # files included in initramfs--used by kbuild
> > +           "-l") # files included in initramfs - used by kbuild
> >                   dep_list="$1"
> >                   echo "deps_initramfs := \\" > $dep_list
> >                   shift
> >                   ;;
> > -           "-o") # Generate a cpio image named $1.
> > +           "-o") # generate cpio image named $1
> >                   output="-o $1"
> >                   shift
> >                   ;;
> > -           "-u") # Map $1 to uid=0 (root).
> > +           "-u") # map $1 to uid=0 (root)
> >                   root_uid="$1"
> >                   [ "$root_uid" = "-1" ] && root_uid=$(id -u || echo 0)
> >                   shift
> >                   ;;
> > -           "-g") # Map $1 to gid=0 (root).
> > +           "-g") # map $1 to gid=0 (root)
> >                   root_gid="$1"
> >                   [ "$root_gid" = "-1" ] && root_gid=$(id -g || echo 0)
> >                   shift
> >                   ;;
> > -           "-d") # Date for file mtimes
> > +           "-d") # date for file mtimes
> >                   timestamp="$(date -d"$1" +%s || :)"
> >                   if test -n "$timestamp"; then
> >                         timestamp="-t $timestamp"
> > @@ -238,7 +237,7 @@ while [ $# -gt 0 ]; do
> >                         "-"*)
> >                               unknown_option
> >                               ;;
> > -                       *)    # input file/dir -- process it
> > +                       *)    # input file/dir - process it
> >                               input_file "$arg"
> >                               ;;
> >                   esac
> > @@ -246,6 +245,6 @@ while [ $# -gt 0 ]; do
> >       esac
> >  done
> >
> > -# If the output_file is set, we will generate cpio archive.
> > -# We are careful to delete tmp files.
> > +# If output_file is set we will generate cpio archive
> > +# we are careful to delete tmp files
> >  usr/gen_init_cpio $output $timestamp $cpio_list
> >
> 
> 
> -- 
> Jack Grube
> B.S. Computer Science, 2026.
> Ying Wu College of Computing, NJIT.
> Secretary — Newman Catholic Club, 2023–24; President 2024–26