Configure.help in 2.5.3-pre6

Configure.help in 2.5.3-pre6

[Ben Clifford]

2.5.3-pre6 gets rid of Documentation/Configure.help and replaces it by
smaller files nearer their use. This seems to have broken the help
facility in menuconfig (and possibly the other configs)

I've generated one at config time using a makefile target like this:

Documentation/Configure.help:
        cat `find -name Config.help` > Documentation/Configure.help

Is this the way that it is intended to work, or should I be making extra
effort to not include the .help for the wrong architecture?

Ben
-- 
Ben Clifford     benc@hawaga.org.uk     GPG: 30F06950
Job Required in Los Angeles - Will do most things unix or IP for money.
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Re: Configure.help in 2.5.3-pre6

[Robert Love]

On Wed, 2002-01-30 at 00:51, Ben Clifford wrote:
> 
> 2.5.3-pre6 gets rid of Documentation/Configure.help and replaces it by
> smaller files nearer their use. This seems to have broken the help
> facility in menuconfig (and possibly the other configs)
> 
> I've generated one at config time using a makefile target like this:
> 
> Documentation/Configure.help:
>         cat `find -name Config.help` > Documentation/Configure.help
> 
> Is this the way that it is intended to work, or should I be making extra
> effort to not include the .help for the wrong architecture?

The intention is to fix [menu|x]config.  I believe plain 'ol `make
config' works.  The new per-config.in config.help is here to stay.

	Robert Love

Re: Configure.help in 2.5.3-pre6

[Linus Torvalds]

In article <1012370595.3392.21.camel@phantasy>,
Robert Love  <rml@tech9.net> wrote:
>
>The intention is to fix [menu|x]config.  I believe plain 'ol `make
>config' works.  The new per-config.in config.help is here to stay.

Yes. On the other hand, if there are real problems with converting
menu/x config to multiple help-files, a short-term answer might indeed
be just the silly "concatenate everything into the same file".

I'd much _prefer_ to have somebody who knows menuconfug/xconfig (or just
wants to learn).  I have a totally untested patch for menuconfig, that
probably just works (like the regular config thing it doesn't actualy
take _advantage_ of pairing the Config.help files up with the questions,
but at least it should give you the help texts like it used to). 

I don't know tcl/tk _at_all_, so I haven't even looked at what the
required syntax is for header.tk to use the same kind of "find .  -name
Config.help" thing. 

		Linus

----- UNTESTED patch, use at your own risk -----
diff -u --recursive pre6/linux/scripts/Menuconfig linux/scripts/Menuconfig
--- pre6/linux/scripts/Menuconfig	Sun Aug  5 13:12:41 2001
+++ linux/scripts/Menuconfig	Tue Jan 29 22:31:46 2002
@@ -357,19 +357,18 @@
 
 
 #
-# Extract available help for an option from Configure.help
+# Extract available help for an option from Config.help
 # and send it to standard output.
 #
 # Most of this function was borrowed from the original kernel
 # Configure script.
 #
 function extract_help () {
-  if [ -f Documentation/Configure.help ]
-  then
-     #first escape regexp special characters in the argument:
-     var=$(echo "$1"|sed 's/[][\/.^$*]/\\&/g')
-     #now pick out the right help text:
-     text=$(sed -n "/^$var[ 	]*\$/,\${
+   #first escape regexp special characters in the argument:
+   var=$(echo "$1"|sed 's/[][\/.^$*]/\\&/g')
+   #now pick out the right help text:
+   text=$(cat /dev/null $(find . -name Config.help) |
+          sed -n "/^$var[ 	]*\$/,\${
                         /^$var[ 	]*\$/c\\
 ${var}:\\
 
@@ -378,19 +377,15 @@
                         s/^  //
 			/<file:\\([^>]*\\)>/s//\\1/g
                         p
-                    }" Documentation/Configure.help)
+                    }")
 
-     if [ -z "$text" ]
-     then
-          echo "There is no help available for this kernel option."
-	  return 1
-     else
-	  echo "$text"
-     fi
-  else
-	 echo "There is no help available for this kernel option."
-         return 1
-  fi
+   if [ -z "$text" ]
+   then
+        echo "There is no help available for this kernel option."
+        return 1
+   else
+	echo "$text"
+   fi
 }
 
 #

Re: Configure.help in 2.5.3-pre6

[Robert Love]

On Wed, 2002-01-30 at 01:35, Linus Torvalds wrote:

> I'd much _prefer_ to have somebody who knows menuconfug/xconfig (or just
> wants to learn).  I have a totally untested patch for menuconfig, that
> probably just works (like the regular config thing it doesn't actualy
> take _advantage_ of pairing the Config.help files up with the questions,
> but at least it should give you the help texts like it used to).

Does not work for me; menuconfig bails out to the console (but does not
return to prompt) on "?" ...

I don't no one lick of this stuff either, so that is all you get from
me. :)

	Robert Love

Re: Configure.help in 2.5.3-pre6

[David Lang]

well since the old config stuff was just broken it sounds like the perfect
time to put in the new stuff rather then wasting time fixing the old,
right ;-)

(ducks and runs for cover)

David Lang

 On 30 Jan 2002, Robert Love wrote:

> Date: 30 Jan 2002 02:11:16 -0500
> From: Robert Love <rml@tech9.net>
> To: Linus Torvalds <torvalds@transmeta.com>
> Cc: linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org
> Subject: Re: Configure.help in 2.5.3-pre6
>
> On Wed, 2002-01-30 at 01:35, Linus Torvalds wrote:
>
> > I'd much _prefer_ to have somebody who knows menuconfug/xconfig (or just
> > wants to learn).  I have a totally untested patch for menuconfig, that
> > probably just works (like the regular config thing it doesn't actualy
> > take _advantage_ of pairing the Config.help files up with the questions,
> > but at least it should give you the help texts like it used to).
>
> Does not work for me; menuconfig bails out to the console (but does not
> return to prompt) on "?" ...
>
> I don't no one lick of this stuff either, so that is all you get from
> me. :)
>
> 	Robert Love
>
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Re: Configure.help in 2.5.3-pre6

[Thomas Capricelli]

On Wednesday 30 January 2002 09:20, David Lang wrote:
> well since the old config stuff was just broken it sounds like the perfect
> time to put in the new stuff rather then wasting time fixing the old,
> right ;-)

	yeps, yeps and yeps !

>
> (ducks and runs for cover)

	I don't run, nor need to cover : i know i'll be ignored

Thomas

Re: Configure.help in 2.5.3-pre6

[Patrick Mauritz]

On Wed, Jan 30, 2002 at 06:35:43AM +0000, Linus Torvalds wrote:
> >config' works.  The new per-config.in config.help is here to stay.
should be more easy to maintain - should make eric more happy

> Yes. On the other hand, if there are real problems with converting
> menu/x config to multiple help-files, a short-term answer might indeed
> be just the silly "concatenate everything into the same file".
short being between now and the cml2 inclusion?

> I'd much _prefer_ to have somebody who knows menuconfug/xconfig (or just
> wants to learn).  I have a totally untested patch for menuconfig, that
> probably just works (like the regular config thing it doesn't actualy
> take _advantage_ of pairing the Config.help files up with the questions,
> but at least it should give you the help texts like it used to). 
hmm... maybe that's a good place to finally drop cml1? given that cml2
copes with that new help-format that is *hint*

patrick mauritz
(starting an old discussion again)
-- 
             I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend
                  your right to say it with all my might

Re: Configure.help in 2.5.3-pre6

[Jeff Garzik]

On Wed, Jan 30, 2002 at 08:54:44AM +0100, Patrick Mauritz wrote:
> short being between now and the cml2 inclusion?

CML2 is butt-ugly to read and maintain, at least for drivers.  It is
my hope that Eric will take input that will make CML2 more readable
and useable by kernel hackers.

The current config language, for all the flaws CML2 proponents love to
point out, is quite readable and understandable.  It doesn't force
the entire domain of CONFIG_xxx symbols on you, like CML2 does.
[Unless this has changed recently] CML2 forces architecture X to be
mindful of changes in architecture Y.  For some tasks this make sense,
but for other cases this is a completely needless usurpation of an
architecture's control of the CONFIG_xxx namespace.  The current
config language allows an arch to -control- the namespace, while
CML2 appears to reduce flexibility by requiring global instead of
arch-specific control of the namespace.

It is my hope that some sort of compromise can be found... :(

	Jeff