From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Return-Path: Received: from mail.zytor.com (terminus.zytor.com [IPv6:2001:1868:205::10]) (using TLSv1 with cipher DHE-RSA-AES256-SHA (256/256 bits)) (Client did not present a certificate) by ozlabs.org (Postfix) with ESMTPS id F422EB6F89 for ; Wed, 15 Jun 2011 15:44:46 +1000 (EST) Message-ID: <4DF8468F.1080806@zytor.com> Date: Tue, 14 Jun 2011 22:43:43 -0700 From: "H. Peter Anvin" MIME-Version: 1.0 To: Guenter Roeck Subject: Re: [RFC,PATCH] Cleanup PC parallel port Kconfig References: <20110614190850.GA13526@linux-mips.org> <4DF7C3CA.9050902@zytor.com> <20110614223404.GA30057@linux-mips.org> <4DF8329C.7000904@zytor.com> <20110615044016.GC10553@ericsson.com> In-Reply-To: <20110615044016.GC10553@ericsson.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8 Cc: "linux-mips@linux-mips.org" , "linux-m68k@vger.kernel.org" , "linux-ia64@vger.kernel.org" , "linux-sh@vger.kernel.org" , Chen Liqin , Paul Mackerras , "sparclinux@vger.kernel.org" , Guan Xuetao , Lennox Wu , "linux-arch@vger.kernel.org" , Jesper Nilsson , Russell King , Yoshinori Sato , Helge Deller , "x86@kernel.org" , "James E.J. Bottomley" , Ingo Molnar , Geert Uytterhoeven , Matt Turner , Fenghua Yu , "microblaze-uclinux@itee.uq.edu.au" , Chris Metcalf , Mikael Starvik , Ivan Kokshaysky , Thomas Gleixner , "linux-arm-kernel@lists.infradead.org" , Richard Henderson , Chris Zankel , Michal Simek , Tony Luck , "linux-parisc@vger.kernel.org" , "linux-cris-kernel@axis.com" , "linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org" , Ralf Baechle , Kyle McMartin , Paul Mundt , "linux-alpha@vger.kernel.org" , "linuxppc-dev@lists.ozlabs.org" , "David S. Miller" List-Id: Linux on PowerPC Developers Mail List List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , On 06/14/2011 09:40 PM, Guenter Roeck wrote: > On Wed, Jun 15, 2011 at 12:18:36AM -0400, H. Peter Anvin wrote: >> On 06/14/2011 03:34 PM, Ralf Baechle wrote: >>> >>> There is no point in offering to build something that couldn't possibly be >>> used. It just makes the kernel harder to configure and inflates the test >>> matrix for no good reason. >>> >> >> I see... that's why a bunch of devices that only exist on ARM and MIPS >> SoCs are offered on x86 platforms? >> > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two_wrongs_make_a_right > Except in this case it's not wrong. It was done that way because it was discovered a long time ago that restricting drivers that were not *inherently* limited to specific platform just resulted in more bitrot and nasty surprises for the users who *did* need specific things after all, even though the maintainers had not thought so. -hpa -- H. Peter Anvin, Intel Open Source Technology Center I work for Intel. I don't speak on their behalf.