Re: [PATCH v2 11/11] test_firmware: test three firmware kernel configs using a proc knob

[Luis R. Rodriguez]

On Wed, Feb 28, 2018 at 06:25:16PM -0800, Josh Triplett wrote:
> On Thu, Mar 01, 2018 at 12:38:16AM +0000, Luis R. Rodriguez wrote:
> > On Wed, Feb 28, 2018 at 04:00:58PM -0800, Josh Triplett wrote:
> > > On Wed, Feb 28, 2018 at 06:26:03PM +0000, Luis R. Rodriguez wrote:
> > > > So for folks who enable CONFIG_FW_LOADER=y, they'd now be forced to gain an
> > > > extra 13436 bytes broken down as follows:
> > > 
> > > Ah, I see.
> > > 
> > > If you have CONFIG_FW_LOADER and not CONFIG_FW_LOADER_USER_HELPER, then
> > > you only have the in-kernel firmware loading mechanism?
> > 
> > Right, we don't have the old fallback mechanism (which BTW used to be
> > the default way back in the hayday).
> > 
> > > Given the
> > > *substantial* size difference between the two, it seems useful to have
> > > that option.
> > 
> > That's what I wanted to get to, is 13436 bytes *substantial* enough to
> > merit a kernel configuration option? It seems like that is the case.
> 
> By at least an order of magnitude, yes.

OK, then now we have a worthy reasonable description to amend into the kconfig
option too. And since its now revisited, I guess we can live with it for a good
while.

> > > What would it gain to combine the two?
> > 
> > Well Android enables CONFIG_FW_LOADER_USER_HELPER, and if they do, I was trying
> > to think if there really was any point in having CONFIG_FW_LOADER_USER_HELPER
> > as an option. Who would enable CONFIG_FW_LOADER but not
> > CONFIG_FW_LOADER_USER_HELPER?
> 
> An embedded system with a fixed set of hardware that needs exclusively a
> fixed set of firmware files known at system build time.

Fair enough, this should help also in the description.

> > The less hairball of mess of kconfig options the better to test. Even
> > though this series has reduced being able to consolidating being
> > able to make a kernel now which lets us test all configurations in
> > one build.
> > 
> > Who would save some 13436 bytes in the real world?
> 
> *raises hand*

Thanks for the feedback.

  Luis