Bug#66578: Module descriptions in modconf
Package: modconf
Version: 0.2.26.14
Subject: No
I wondered a lot installing potato when I discovered that many
modules are marked with "(No description available)" by modconf.
In many cases no help is given about parameters, in other totally
wrong help is given (noticeably parameters for lp.o).
This is true also for very popular modules like serial and lp,
which was better handled by modconf in Debian 2.1.
I grab the modconf source and I discovered that module
descriptions are builded automatically from:
1) The Module-HOWTO
A document "no being maintened any more", last released 30 Jul
1997, whith many errors like the parameters needed by lp.o (not
needed any more).
2) The kernel sources
I'm not very clever with Perl, so I can't overcome the lack of
comments in the script which digs the source tree. It's hard to
handle the kernel source tree, but missing CONFIG_SERIAL means
that many things will go wrong.
3) Static templates
Some files, also localized, which contain redundant and stale
descriptions (why "Intel Ether Express" should be localized?, is
"summary_psaux" needed any more?).
I must admit that I'm totally disappointed.
A few days before release it is normal to find some glitches in
the software, and the help of many people is needed.
But if I want to help what I have to do? Mantain the Howto? Fix
the perl script? Write redundant templates? All of this are - at
least for me - too hard to be done in a few days.
Or, may be, releasing an operating system where it's hard to
figure out how to use the serial or parallel port is critical
only to my eyes...
Let me know how and if I can help...
Niccolo Rigacci
Firenze - Italy
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