linux-kernel - finding unused Kconfig variables in the source tree

lists.openwall.net		lists / announce owl-users owl-dev john-users john-dev passwdqc-users yescrypt popa3d-users / oss-security kernel-hardening musl sabotage tlsify passwords / crypt-dev xvendor / Bugtraq Full-Disclosure linux-kernel linux-netdev linux-ext4 linux-hardening linux-cve-announce PHC
Open Source and information security mailing list archives

Hash Suite for Android: free password hash cracker in your pocket

[<prev] [next>] [day] [month] [year] [list]

Message-ID: <Pine.LNX.4.64.0710260755340.17687@localhost.localdomain>
Date:	Fri, 26 Oct 2007 08:04:48 -0400 (EDT)
From:	"Robert P. J. Day" <rpjday@...shcourse.ca>
To:	Linux Kernel Mailing List <linux-kernel@...r.kernel.org>
Subject: finding unused Kconfig variables in the source tree

  as i mentioned in an earlier post, i threw together a quick script
that scans the source tree, not for dead CONFIG vars (those that are
checked but never defined in a Kconfig file) but for the exact
opposite -- those that are *defined* in a Kconfig file but are
apparently never used anywhere.

  for example (since the CRIS architecture came up recently), here's
the first few lines of output (the script is still running as we
speak):

$ ../find_unused_configs.sh arch/cris
>>>>> ETRAX_ETHERNET_HW_CSUM
arch/cris/arch-v32/drivers/Kconfig:config ETRAX_ETHERNET_HW_CSUM
>>>>> ETRAX_ETHERNET_IFACE0
arch/cris/arch-v32/drivers/Kconfig:config ETRAX_ETHERNET_IFACE0
...

  that tells me that, unless i've completely screwed my programming, a
Kconfig file defines the variable ETRAX_ETHERNET_HW_CSUM, which is
subsequently never referenced by anything anywhere in the tree.
(that would normally suggest a feature that was removed from the tree
without removing its controlling CONFIG variable.)

  i'll run this on bits of the tree at a time and send the results to
the appropriate people, at which point they can do what they want in
terms of cleaning Kconfig files.

rday

p.s.  perhaps one of the CRIS folks could verify that those variables
are, in fact, unused, so i know i haven't screwed something up
horribly.

-- 
========================================================================
Robert P. J. Day
Linux Consulting, Training and Annoying Kernel Pedantry
Waterloo, Ontario, CANADA

http://crashcourse.ca
========================================================================
-
To unsubscribe from this list: send the line "unsubscribe linux-kernel" in
the body of a message to majordomo@...r.kernel.org
More majordomo info at  http://vger.kernel.org/majordomo-info.html
Please read the FAQ at  http://www.tux.org/lkml/