Re: Kernel choices
On 2005-04-20, Stephen R Laniel penned:
>
> This relates to a question I often have. Let's say that I
> want to compile a customized kernel for my machine that
> only compiles modules for hardware that I have, is tailored
> specifically to my processor (right now a Pentium M 1.5GHz),
> compiles into the kernel only those modules corresponding to
> hardware that is always attached to my computer (hence
> wasting no memory), etc.
[snip]
> But I'd really like a computer to take care of this for me.
> So are there any packages that will {semi-,}automate the
> kernel-install process for me?
I don't know the answer, but honestly, it's only hard the first time
through. I'm using a descendant of a kernel config I first created
years ago. `make oldconfig` is your friend.
I like to "roll my own" for a number of reasons:
I like to know exactly what's in my kernel.
I like to see what new options have appeared since I last grabbed the
source.
It prompts me to do research, like, "What on earth is a Hopkins
Frommit 831G, and might I want one?" -- so it indirectly helps keep me
informed of technologies I might otherwise have missed.
It's aesthetically displeasing to me to have lots of stuff in the
kernel that I'll never use.
It seems to me that security exploits and bugs are minimized when you
don't have a bunch of unnecessary code floating about. (I just read a
study of aerospace failures today in which unnecessary code was flagged
as a "safety" problem because a complex system is more likely to have
systemic problems, even though the individual components may be reliable
and function as intended.)
It just makes me feel more in tune with the machine.
Anyway, I'd be surprised if there were such a package, because it
seems like most people who want the computer to do it for them will
just use the stock kernel, and most people who don't mind compiling
their own kernel probably don't mind playing with the config. But
maybe I'm wrong and there's a decently-sized population that wants to
have their cake and eat it too.
--
monique
Ask smart questions, get good answers:
http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html
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