Re: [PATCH RFC] kconfig: place git SHA1 in .config output if in git tree

[Frans Pop <elendil@planet.nl>]

On Wednesday 03 March 2010, Paul E. McKenney wrote:
> > Wouldn't it be more logical to include the line in the dmesg output?
> > My preference would be a separate line below the existing (Linux
> > version) line. That line could only be output if the kernel was built
> > from a VCS. It could then even be repeated in oops output.
>
> My concern with only putting it in the dmesg output is that people do
> not always capture that.  The oops output is more often captured, but
> the kernel only has this information if CONFIG_LOCALVERSION_AUTO is set.

Yes, my suggestion is exactly because IMO it should be independent of 
CONFIG_LOCALVERSION_AUTO.

I hugely dislike that option because it makes the git version part of the 
kernel version and thus affects how the kernel gets installed (names of 
files in /boot, name of the directory in /lib/modules, name of the Debian 
package created using the deb-pkg target, etc.).
For all those things I want a "clean" kernel version and thus I will never 
enable CONFIG_LOCALVERSION_AUTO.

But I do see the value of a reliable and consistent identification of what 
exact source a kernel was built from. Including the git version separately 
from the kernel version would allow that.

Cheers,
FJP