Managing Linux Kernel Configurations with Config Fragments
summary
Linux kernel has over 10,000 config symbols; a flat .config produces ~500-line diffs for defconfig updates but only ~100 actual intentional changes. Using config fragments and the upstream merge_config.sh records only explicit choices (e.g., three lines to enable a Dell SM BIOS driver), merges fragments into .config, and is used by MIPS/PowerPC. Order of fragments matters, selects/imply are dangerous, merge can silently fail, and a proposed make audit config would verify requested symbols.
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chapters (8)
- 0:00Introduction
- 0:45Embedded Linux
- 1:38Unique Configurations
- 2:40Config Language
- 13:56Merge Config
- 15:42Config Organizations
- 17:22Looking Forward
- 19:09Questions
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