Re: A ramble re Menuconfig in 2.1.131ac6

Alan Cox (alan@lxorguk.ukuu.org.uk)
Thu, 10 Dec 1998 17:18:01 +0000 (GMT)


> o First off: some items not marked as (EXPERIMENTAL) but as
> (NEW) don't show up unless you select CONFIG_EXPERIMENTAL.

True care to submit a clean up patch (remembering to make
Documentation/Configure.help tally still) ?

> o Why is CONFIG_MTRR an option when CONFIG_M386 is anything
> but PPro? Does this make sense? If so, the help for
> CONFIG_MTRR should explain this. If not, it shouldn't be an
> option. (Also: Does the Celeron have MTRR? Is the Celeron
> considered a PPro or a Pentium?)

Suppose you want to build a kernel that works on any CPU but has
MTRR support if its available. So yes this is sensible

> o Are/were there 386 SMP's?

Not that we support afaik.

> o The help for CONFIG_BLK_DEV_IDECD says "Most new CDROM
> drives use ATAPI, including [...] just about all non-SCSI
> double(2X), quad(4X), and six(6X) speed drives." This could
> do with a bit of fresh paint, as 30x drives are pretty much
> standard (even _I_ have a 24x).

Submit a patch 8)

> o Should CONFIG_BINFMT_JAVA be an option if you select
> CONFIG_BINFMT_MISC? Are there backward-compat. issues? [I
> don't care: I don't java, but my brain just loves to find
> this kind of niggly junk]

Does it matter ?

> o Why does CONFIG_BLK_DEV_CMD640 default to yes? On the same
> lines, why does CONFIG_BLK_DEV_RZ1000 default to yes? Are
> they _that_ common? I understand that most new PC's are PCI

Because if you say No and you have such a controller you may well
trash your disk contents. So it defaults to safety first.

> out (well, shelf. My mom threw it out.) my xt's hard drive
> because it wouldn't work with the 386. Was I ripped off? Or

Yes

> is there some trick to using these (ugly slow chunky
> gas-eating monster) drives on [345]86's? I could probably
> get hold of a (ugly slow chunky gas-eating monster) 20 meg
> "diskette" :) if this were so.

Turn on the XT driver

> o Is the EtherExpressPro/100 _that_ popular that it's the
> default? I don't mean to be nasty or anything, just that
> around here most cards are NE2k's, which is lowsy and
> matches our GNP.

Its default cos Linus has one.

> o I get all these options for IrDA, _without_ checking the
> CONFIG_IRDA box. Shouldn't this be like CONFIG_SCSI or

Umm. That sounds like a bug

> CONFIG_PRINTER_READBACK seems to imply that it's for
> printers on the lp devices, which is somehow reinforced by
> it being right under CONFIG_PRINTER. Whichever is the case,
> i) shouldn't the help be extended a bit, and/or ii)
> shouldn't it be an option only if possible?

Its relevant if you have any parallel port

> Why are CONFIG_PSMOUSE and CONFIG_82C710_MOUSE *on* by
> default, and why is CONFIG_MOUSE *on* by default?

Because Linus has one

> o Why is ftape in with the char devices? is this ok? And why

Yes

> am I asked (of all things) for the CPU clock frequency of my
> DEC Alpha, when you know I don't even have an Alpha? [Note
> that when you start addressing your computer in second

How did you get it to ask you this and where ?

> o [I think this'been discussed too] Why is /proc even an
> *option*? is there _anything_ you can do with a Linux box
> w/o the /proc fs? And /please/ don't send me to the khg,
> it's been dead for ages.

Lots of things dont need procfs. Its trivially optional so why
make life hard on the few people who dont need it

> o Shouldn't you complain if one of the fs's that use NLS are
> yupped and you don't yup at least one pair of codepages?

They drop back to defaults. Why not submit patches for the relevant
looking ones. It sounds like you've certainly done some digging into
the apparent flaws.

Alan

-
To unsubscribe from this list: send the line "unsubscribe linux-kernel" in
the body of a message to majordomo@vger.rutgers.edu
Please read the FAQ at http://www.tux.org/lkml/