Well, there have been several approaches:
- file-based configuration (a la BSD)
- simple menu system (page/form-style)
- complex menu system (see lrcftp.epfl.ch:/pub/linux/local/scend)
Each of them has its problems and it's particularly hard to beat a
shell script in terms of flexibility.
> A new config program _must_ be supported by Linus because anything
> else will not be kept in sync with the kernel.
Yup.
> All the adjustable defines are kept in a database. Each define is
> classified with cross-references, dependencies, and options.
Wouldn't this duplicate quite some of make's functionality ?
Configuration header files aren't that bad, you just have do have
enough of them. I did this once for kconf, the predecessor of Scend,
and the concept didn't look too ugly.
> This is so that different config programs can have different menu
> systems, yet be (mostly) independent of the kernel version.
This is only necessary if there is a need to have different config
programs which are maintained in parallel by different people.
> This needs to be done in 1.3.x really soon.
I think the whole discussion and the first proposals started even
before 1.0, so there seems to be some reluctance to accept quick
fixes ...
- Werner
-- _________________________________________________________________________ / Werner Almesberger, DI-LRC,EPFL,CH werner.almesberger@lrc.di.epfl.ch / /_IN_R_311__Tel_+41_21_693_6621__Fax_+41_21_693_6610_____________________/