setting EXTRA_IMAGE_FEATURES explicitly in .bb file can screw things up

setting EXTRA_IMAGE_FEATURES explicitly in .bb file can screw things up

[Robert P. J. Day]

  a while back, i whined about the inconsistent usage of
EXTRA_IMAGE_FEATURES, like this as a snippet:

meta/recipes-sato/images/core-image-sato-sdk.bb:EXTRA_IMAGE_FEATURES += "tools-debug tools-profile tools-testapps debug-tweaks"
meta/recipes-rt/images/core-image-rt-sdk.bb:EXTRA_IMAGE_FEATURES += "tools-debug tools-profile tools-testapps debug-tweaks"
meta/recipes-extended/images/core-image-lsb-sdk.bb:EXTRA_IMAGE_FEATURES = "tools-debug tools-profile tools-testapps debug-tweaks"

notice the mixing of "+=" and "=", which seems messy.  then i ran
across this in core-image-lsb-sdk.bb:

IMAGE_FEATURES += "apps-console-core tools-sdk dev-pkgs ssh-server-openssh"
EXTRA_IMAGE_FEATURES = "tools-debug tools-profile tools-testapps debug-tweaks"

  that *can't* be right, can it?  the explicit setting of
EXTRA_IMAGE_FEATURES in that recipe file will override any such
setting in one's local.conf file, won't it?  and that's how the
current manual *advises* how to add more features through your
local.conf.

  i tested this target with a standard local.conf, and checked the
environment to see:

... snip ...
IMAGE_FEATURES="apps-console-core debug-tweaks tools-sdk
tools-testapps dev-pkgs tools-profile tools-debug ssh-server-openssh"

which looks fine according to the .bb file.

  but if i add the following to my local.conf file (as the manual
suggests i do to add another feature):

EXTRA_IMAGE_FEATURES = "nfs-server"

i see *no* difference in the environment.  hasn't the setting in the
.bb file overridden the one in my local.conf?

  i *can* get nfs-server added to my list of features with
(predictably):

IMAGE_FEATURES += "nfs-server"

but that doesn't strike me as a proper solution and will certainly
come as an unpleasant surprise to someone eventually.  thoughts?

rday

-- 

========================================================================
Robert P. J. Day                                 Ottawa, Ontario, CANADA
                        http://crashcourse.ca

Twitter:                                       http://twitter.com/rpjday
LinkedIn:                               http://ca.linkedin.com/in/rpjday
========================================================================

Re: setting EXTRA_IMAGE_FEATURES explicitly in .bb file can screw things up

[Robert P. J. Day]

On Sat, 7 Jul 2012, Robert P. J. Day wrote:

>   a while back, i whined about the inconsistent usage of
> EXTRA_IMAGE_FEATURES, like this as a snippet:
>
> meta/recipes-sato/images/core-image-sato-sdk.bb:EXTRA_IMAGE_FEATURES += "tools-debug tools-profile tools-testapps debug-tweaks"
> meta/recipes-rt/images/core-image-rt-sdk.bb:EXTRA_IMAGE_FEATURES += "tools-debug tools-profile tools-testapps debug-tweaks"
> meta/recipes-extended/images/core-image-lsb-sdk.bb:EXTRA_IMAGE_FEATURES = "tools-debug tools-profile tools-testapps debug-tweaks"
>
> notice the mixing of "+=" and "=", which seems messy.  then i ran
> across this in core-image-lsb-sdk.bb:
>
> IMAGE_FEATURES += "apps-console-core tools-sdk dev-pkgs ssh-server-openssh"
> EXTRA_IMAGE_FEATURES = "tools-debug tools-profile tools-testapps debug-tweaks"
>
>   that *can't* be right, can it?  the explicit setting of
> EXTRA_IMAGE_FEATURES in that recipe file will override any such
> setting in one's local.conf file, won't it?  and that's how the
> current manual *advises* how to add more features through your
> local.conf.
>
>   i tested this target with a standard local.conf, and checked the
> environment to see:
>
> ... snip ...
> IMAGE_FEATURES="apps-console-core debug-tweaks tools-sdk
> tools-testapps dev-pkgs tools-profile tools-debug ssh-server-openssh"
>
> which looks fine according to the .bb file.
>
>   but if i add the following to my local.conf file (as the manual
> suggests i do to add another feature):
>
> EXTRA_IMAGE_FEATURES = "nfs-server"
>
> i see *no* difference in the environment.  hasn't the setting in the
> .bb file overridden the one in my local.conf?
>
>   i *can* get nfs-server added to my list of features with
> (predictably):
>
> IMAGE_FEATURES += "nfs-server"
>
> but that doesn't strike me as a proper solution and will certainly
> come as an unpleasant surprise to someone eventually.

  i'm still curious if this is a potential issue, or whether i'm just
misreading/misunderstanding.  thoughts?

rday

-- 

========================================================================
Robert P. J. Day                                 Ottawa, Ontario, CANADA
                        http://crashcourse.ca

Twitter:                                       http://twitter.com/rpjday
LinkedIn:                               http://ca.linkedin.com/in/rpjday
========================================================================

Re: setting EXTRA_IMAGE_FEATURES explicitly in .bb file can screw things up

[Andrei Gherzan]

[-- Attachment #1: Type: text/plain, Size: 2424 bytes --]

On Sat, Jul 7, 2012 at 9:52 PM, Robert P. J. Day <rpjday@crashcourse.ca>wrote:

>
>   a while back, i whined about the inconsistent usage of
> EXTRA_IMAGE_FEATURES, like this as a snippet:
>
> meta/recipes-sato/images/core-image-sato-sdk.bb:EXTRA_IMAGE_FEATURES +=
> "tools-debug tools-profile tools-testapps debug-tweaks"
> meta/recipes-rt/images/core-image-rt-sdk.bb:EXTRA_IMAGE_FEATURES +=
> "tools-debug tools-profile tools-testapps debug-tweaks"
> meta/recipes-extended/images/core-image-lsb-sdk.bb:EXTRA_IMAGE_FEATURES =
> "tools-debug tools-profile tools-testapps debug-tweaks"
>
> notice the mixing of "+=" and "=", which seems messy.  then i ran
> across this in core-image-lsb-sdk.bb:
>
> IMAGE_FEATURES += "apps-console-core tools-sdk dev-pkgs ssh-server-openssh"
> EXTRA_IMAGE_FEATURES = "tools-debug tools-profile tools-testapps
> debug-tweaks"
>
>   that *can't* be right, can it?  the explicit setting of
> EXTRA_IMAGE_FEATURES in that recipe file will override any such
> setting in one's local.conf file, won't it?  and that's how the
> current manual *advises* how to add more features through your
> local.conf.
>
>   i tested this target with a standard local.conf, and checked the
> environment to see:
>
> ... snip ...
> IMAGE_FEATURES="apps-console-core debug-tweaks tools-sdk
> tools-testapps dev-pkgs tools-profile tools-debug ssh-server-openssh"
>
> which looks fine according to the .bb file.
>
>   but if i add the following to my local.conf file (as the manual
> suggests i do to add another feature):
>
> EXTRA_IMAGE_FEATURES = "nfs-server"
>
> i see *no* difference in the environment.  hasn't the setting in the
> .bb file overridden the one in my local.conf?
>
>   i *can* get nfs-server added to my list of features with
> (predictably):
>
> IMAGE_FEATURES += "nfs-server"
>
> but that doesn't strike me as a proper solution and will certainly
> come as an unpleasant surprise to someone eventually.  thoughts?
>
>
I agree that there is a problem with this image. Anyway the best way to
debug a scenario like this is to use bitbake -e and grep on the thing you
are interested in. I tried to add a feature to local conf and, as i
expected, EXTRA_IMAGE_FEATURES ended up overwritten by recipe.

So IMHO the EXTRA_IMAGE_FEATURES variable in the image should be merged in
the IMAGE_FEATURES above. I don't see the meaning of it.

@g

[-- Attachment #2: Type: text/html, Size: 3020 bytes --]

Re: setting EXTRA_IMAGE_FEATURES explicitly in .bb file can screw things up

[Robert P. J. Day]

[-- Attachment #1: Type: TEXT/PLAIN, Size: 3519 bytes --]

On Mon, 9 Jul 2012, Andrei Gherzan wrote:

> On Sat, Jul 7, 2012 at 9:52 PM, Robert P. J. Day <rpjday@crashcourse.ca> wrote:
>
>         a while back, i whined about the inconsistent usage of
>       EXTRA_IMAGE_FEATURES, like this as a snippet:
>
>       meta/recipes-sato/images/core-image-sato-sdk.bb:EXTRA_IMAGE_FEATURES += "tools-debug tools-profile tools-testapps
>       debug-tweaks"
>       meta/recipes-rt/images/core-image-rt-sdk.bb:EXTRA_IMAGE_FEATURES += "tools-debug tools-profile tools-testapps
>       debug-tweaks"
>       meta/recipes-extended/images/core-image-lsb-sdk.bb:EXTRA_IMAGE_FEATURES = "tools-debug tools-profile tools-testapps
>       debug-tweaks"
>
>       notice the mixing of "+=" and "=", which seems messy.  then i ran
>       across this in core-image-lsb-sdk.bb:
>
>       IMAGE_FEATURES += "apps-console-core tools-sdk dev-pkgs ssh-server-openssh"
>       EXTRA_IMAGE_FEATURES = "tools-debug tools-profile tools-testapps debug-tweaks"
>
>         that *can't* be right, can it?  the explicit setting of
>       EXTRA_IMAGE_FEATURES in that recipe file will override any such
>       setting in one's local.conf file, won't it?  and that's how the
>       current manual *advises* how to add more features through your
>       local.conf.
>
>         i tested this target with a standard local.conf, and checked the
>       environment to see:
>
>       ... snip ...
>       IMAGE_FEATURES="apps-console-core debug-tweaks tools-sdk
>       tools-testapps dev-pkgs tools-profile tools-debug ssh-server-openssh"
>
>       which looks fine according to the .bb file.
>
>         but if i add the following to my local.conf file (as the manual
>       suggests i do to add another feature):
>
>       EXTRA_IMAGE_FEATURES = "nfs-server"
>
>       i see *no* difference in the environment.  hasn't the setting in the
>       .bb file overridden the one in my local.conf?
>
>         i *can* get nfs-server added to my list of features with
>       (predictably):
>
>       IMAGE_FEATURES += "nfs-server"
>
>       but that doesn't strike me as a proper solution and will certainly
>       come as an unpleasant surprise to someone eventually.  thoughts?
>
>
> I agree that there is a problem with this image. Anyway the best way
> to debug a scenario like this is to use bitbake -e and grep on the
> thing you are interested in. I tried to add a feature to local conf
> and, as i expected, EXTRA_IMAGE_FEATURES ended up overwritten by
> recipe. 
>
> So IMHO the EXTRA_IMAGE_FEATURES variable in the image should be
> merged in the IMAGE_FEATURES above. I don't see the meaning of it. 

  yup, that was precisely the point i was making.  so given the
potential for confusion, what should be the "best practise" here?
based on my sketchy understanding, it seems the proper approach would
be to let recipe files use IMAGE_FEATURES exclusively, while
specifically reserving EXTRA_IMAGE_FEATURES for the developer's
local.conf file, and avoid the current unpleasant mixing.

  thoughts?

rday

-- 

========================================================================
Robert P. J. Day                                 Ottawa, Ontario, CANADA
                        http://crashcourse.ca

Twitter:                                       http://twitter.com/rpjday
LinkedIn:                               http://ca.linkedin.com/in/rpjday
========================================================================

Re: setting EXTRA_IMAGE_FEATURES explicitly in .bb file can screw things up

[Paul Eggleton]

On Monday 09 July 2012 11:24:27 Robert P. J. Day wrote:
> On Mon, 9 Jul 2012, Andrei Gherzan wrote:
> > So IMHO the EXTRA_IMAGE_FEATURES variable in the image should be
> > merged in the IMAGE_FEATURES above. I don't see the meaning of it. 
> 
>   yup, that was precisely the point i was making.  so given the
> potential for confusion, what should be the "best practise" here?
> based on my sketchy understanding, it seems the proper approach would
> be to let recipe files use IMAGE_FEATURES exclusively, while
> specifically reserving EXTRA_IMAGE_FEATURES for the developer's
> local.conf file, and avoid the current unpleasant mixing.

Sounds like a good idea to me.

Cheers,
Paul

-- 

Paul Eggleton
Intel Open Source Technology Centre

Re: setting EXTRA_IMAGE_FEATURES explicitly in .bb file can screw things up

[Robert P. J. Day]

On Mon, 9 Jul 2012, Paul Eggleton wrote:

> On Monday 09 July 2012 11:24:27 Robert P. J. Day wrote:
> > On Mon, 9 Jul 2012, Andrei Gherzan wrote:
> > > So IMHO the EXTRA_IMAGE_FEATURES variable in the image should be
> > > merged in the IMAGE_FEATURES above. I don't see the meaning of it.
> >
> >   yup, that was precisely the point i was making.  so given the
> > potential for confusion, what should be the "best practise" here?
> > based on my sketchy understanding, it seems the proper approach would
> > be to let recipe files use IMAGE_FEATURES exclusively, while
> > specifically reserving EXTRA_IMAGE_FEATURES for the developer's
> > local.conf file, and avoid the current unpleasant mixing.
>
> Sounds like a good idea to me.

  i'll send in a patch that does that, especially since
local.conf.sample specifically instructs the developer to use
EXTRA_IMAGE_FEATURES.   patch coming shortly.

rday

-- 

========================================================================
Robert P. J. Day                                 Ottawa, Ontario, CANADA
                        http://crashcourse.ca

Twitter:                                       http://twitter.com/rpjday
LinkedIn:                               http://ca.linkedin.com/in/rpjday
========================================================================

Re: setting EXTRA_IMAGE_FEATURES explicitly in .bb file can screw things up

[Andrei Gherzan]

[-- Attachment #1: Type: text/plain, Size: 1057 bytes --]

On Mon, Jul 9, 2012 at 7:25 PM, Robert P. J. Day <rpjday@crashcourse.ca>wrote:

> On Mon, 9 Jul 2012, Paul Eggleton wrote:
>
> > On Monday 09 July 2012 11:24:27 Robert P. J. Day wrote:
> > > On Mon, 9 Jul 2012, Andrei Gherzan wrote:
> > > > So IMHO the EXTRA_IMAGE_FEATURES variable in the image should be
> > > > merged in the IMAGE_FEATURES above. I don't see the meaning of it.
> > >
> > >   yup, that was precisely the point i was making.  so given the
> > > potential for confusion, what should be the "best practise" here?
> > > based on my sketchy understanding, it seems the proper approach would
> > > be to let recipe files use IMAGE_FEATURES exclusively, while
> > > specifically reserving EXTRA_IMAGE_FEATURES for the developer's
> > > local.conf file, and avoid the current unpleasant mixing.
> >
> > Sounds like a good idea to me.
>
>   i'll send in a patch that does that, especially since
> local.conf.sample specifically instructs the developer to use
> EXTRA_IMAGE_FEATURES.   patch coming shortly.
>
>
Good.

@g

[-- Attachment #2: Type: text/html, Size: 1528 bytes --]