linux-kernel - Re: [PATCH] Remove silentoldconfig from "make help"; fix kconfig/conf's help

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Date:   Fri, 26 Jan 2018 15:00:44 -0800
From:   Marc Herbert <Marc.Herbert@...el.com>
To:     Masahiro Yamada <yamada.masahiro@...ionext.com>
Cc:     Thiago Macieira <thiago.macieira@...el.com>,
        Josh Triplett <josh@...htriplett.org>,
        Guenter Roeck <groeck@...gle.com>,
        Wayne Boyer <wayne.boyer@...el.com>,
        Linux Kbuild mailing list <linux-kbuild@...r.kernel.org>,
        Linux Kernel Mailing List <linux-kernel@...r.kernel.org>,
        Michal Marek <michal.lkml@...kovi.net>,
        Sam Ravnborg <sam@...nborg.org>
Subject: Re: [PATCH] Remove silentoldconfig from "make help"; fix
 kconfig/conf's help

Masahiro,

On 17/01/2018 20:31, Masahiro Yamada wrote: 

> Sorry for my late reply.

I think we're even now :-)

>> I'd like to keep that sentence because it's there to explain the legacy and
>> confusing "--silentoldconfig" name which unfortunately still sticks out in
>> the *current* conf.c interface.
>>
>> +       printf("  --silentoldconfig       Similar to oldconfig but generates configuration in\n"
>> +              "                          include/{generated/,config/} (oldconfig used to be more verbose)\n");
>>
>> The purpose of this sentence is to warn people that: "silentoldconfig is
>> just archeology, so you can safely ignore it" and save them time.
>>
>> The alternative I considered was to entirely remove "silentconfig" not just
>> from the Makefile's help but from the conf.c help too.
 
> 
> Another possibility might be to rename 'silentoldconfig'.
> instead of explaining the background in the help message.
> [...]
> It is difficult to suggest a clear name,
> but 'syncconfig' is the one I came up with.
> 
> Please suggest if you have a better idea.

Look like a good idea and name to me but... for a different, bigger
and later commit.

> Commit fb16d8912db5268f29706010ecafff74b971c58d
> renamed oldnoconfig to olddefconfig...

... but it didn't remove any "now internal API" from "make help". Instead it
changed the name of an external and preserved "API".

> If we worry about the compatibility just in case,
> we can keep 'silentoldconfig' as an alias as well.

Yes - but later?

In the meantime I found another instance of silentoldconfig in
Documentation/admin-guide/; posting v3 with that removed too.
I'm also adding some deprecation comments in the source.

-- 
Marc