Re: [PATCH] replace "make ARCH=i386/x86_64 with make ARCH=x86"

[Jeff Garzik <jeff@garzik.org>]

Sam Ravnborg wrote:
> This patchset unify the i386 and x86_64 Kconfig
> files for x86.
> In addition it replaces the use of ARCH=i386 and
> ARCH=x86_64 with the more intuitive ARCH=x86.
> 
> The primary purpose of this patch serie is to 
> enable make ARCH=x86 and let the config decide
> if we are building for 32 or 64 bit.

Yuck, I dislike.  Please don't take away this nice development workflow. 
  the current workflow of

	make ARCH=i386 allmodconfig && make ARCH=i386 -sj5

no longer works.  Now, the new and ungainly step of editing the .config 
is added, with vi or sed.

This also opens a chicken-and-egg problem...  What kind of config is 
generated by allmodconfig when ARCH==x86?  There is no good answer.

The existing tradition of switching between 32-bit and 64-bit was quite 
nice, and it was done in The Obvious Way(tm) -- via the method for 
specifying the architecture/platform.  Switching to Kconfig for that 
decision is a step backwards in usability and IMO violates the Principle 
of Least Surprise.

	Jeff