Re: [PATCH v1 08/14] x86: make CONFIG_EFI_STUB unconditional

[H. Peter Anvin]

On 2026-01-26 13:19, Simon Glass wrote:
>>
>> Including the EFI stub doesn't mean using EFI to boot is required.
> 
> Yes, understood, but it adds bloat. More importantly it will lead to
> people assuming that the stub is always used and thus unwittingly blur
> the boundary between the stub and the kernel itself.
> 
> What is the actual need for this?
> 

I would argue that the opposite is more likely: someone inadvertently builds a
kernel without the stub, the bootloader goes down a legacy support path and
things seems to work... except for some platform subtleties.

The bloat is there, but it is small and is only in the on-disk kernel image;
it is zero at runtime.

As such, I don't think this option is a particularly good idea anymore. If
necessary, it could be hidden behind an EXPERT option, but I first wanted to
see who if anyone actually cares in a meaningful way to maintain this option.
Every option, after all, adds maintenance burden.

Note that the BIOS stub is unconditionally compiled and included, and that has
not been an issue.

	-hpa