netdev - Re: [RFC] Make board force selection of PHYLIB

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: Windows password security audit tool. GUI, reports in PDF.

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

Message-Id: <F7DB0156-66BA-4E52-9CA6-F1405E3D31C6@kernel.crashing.org>
Date:	Tue, 3 Jun 2008 10:40:36 -0500
From:	Kumar Gala <galak@...nel.crashing.org>
To:	Scott Wood <scottwood@...escale.com>
Cc:	Jeff Garzik <jeff@...zik.org>, netdev@...r.kernel.org,
	linuxppc-dev@...abs.org, adrian.bunk@...ial.fi
Subject: Re: [RFC] Make board force selection of PHYLIB


On Jun 3, 2008, at 10:36 AM, Scott Wood wrote:

> Kumar Gala wrote:
>> On Jun 3, 2008, at 10:18 AM, Scott Wood wrote:
>>> Kumar Gala wrote:
>>>> On Jun 3, 2008, at 10:10 AM, Scott Wood wrote:
>>>>> I'd rather avoid adding another case where the kernel needs to  
>>>>> know what modules are being built, though, especially if the  
>>>>> result of changing the .config and building modules is a  
>>>>> mysterious runtime failure (due to a missing platform fixup)  
>>>>> rather than compile- or insertion-time.
>>>> I don't follow what you are getting at here.  Is this something  
>>>> more than #ifdef PHYLIB in the platform code?
>>>
>>> If you just #ifdef PHYLIB, then things will break if the user does  
>>> this:
>>> make config, GIANFAR=PHYLIB=n
>>> make zImage
>>> make config, GIANFAR=PHYLIB=m
>>> make modules
>>>
>>> And the cause of the failure will not be something that obviously  
>>> points to a build problem, such as unresolved symbols.
>> what you are suggesting will not break with my patch.
>
> Yes, it will -- note the absence of a "make zImage" after the second  
> make config.
>
>> The second case will for PHYLIB=y w/the select.
>
> And that will only make a difference if you rebuild the kernel  
> itself after enabling the module.

I see.  However, I don't like the idea I have to build in the PHYLIB  
if I don't need it at all.  It seems like the type of breakage you are  
talking about exists today all over the place.  I dont like it anymore  
than you do, but it seems to me the lesser of evils is to allow the  
user the ability to config things as they want.

- k
--
To unsubscribe from this list: send the line "unsubscribe netdev" in
the body of a message to majordomo@...r.kernel.org
More majordomo info at  http://vger.kernel.org/majordomo-info.html