Re: [PATCH 2/5] USB Kconfig: Select SCSI for USB Mass Storage support

[Adrian Bunk <bunk@kernel.org>]

On Sun, Jan 06, 2008 at 01:32:35PM +0100, Stefan Richter wrote:
> Adrian Bunk wrote:
> > On Sun, Jan 06, 2008 at 12:29:46PM +0100, Stefan Richter wrote:
> >> Adrian Bunk wrote:
> >>> Duplicating the structure in each UI should be an improvement?
> >>>
> >>> Hardly.
> >> What do you mean?
> ...
> > You said:
> > "The graphic UIs including menuconfig currently work best for tree-like 
> >  dependencies"
> > 
> > That's true.
> > 
> > And the dependency graph can't be a tree.
> > 
> > Currently, defining the ordered tree the UIs present to the user is done 
> > _once_ in kconfig.
> > 
> > Our UIs either show this tree as a tree or go through the tree 
> > depth-first and present the options in this order to the user.
> 
> All correct.
> 
> > And I think your main misunderstanding is that you think the 
> > dependencies alone would carry enough information for allowing an UI to 
> > present the options in a way not worse than it's currently done - that's 
> > simply not true.
> 
> No, the dependency relationships alone do not carry enough information.
>   I am aware of that.
> 
> For example, we certainly want groupings or tags such as "option is
> (directly) related to USB hardware", "filesystems related option",
> "option is for debugging purposes" etc..  We currently provide hints
> like this via the 'menu' keyword.  We also want help texts per option
> and per group of options.
> 
> However, there is ultimately not a single most logical way to group
> options.  There could be groups which would overlap.  The grouping per
> 'menu' provides only one fixed non-overlapping grouping.

I don't think your implementation would result in a better UI.

But I know that have a tendency of being overly pessimistic and ideas I 
didn't like often turn out to be good, so feel free to prove me wrong.

> Stefan Richter

cu
Adrian

-- 

       "Is there not promise of rain?" Ling Tan asked suddenly out
        of the darkness. There had been need of rain for many days.
       "Only a promise," Lao Er said.
                                       Pearl S. Buck - Dragon Seed