Subject: Re: config & endianness
To: Izumi Tsutsui <tsutsui@ceres.dti.ne.jp>
From: Garrett D'Amore <garrett_damore@tadpole.com>
List: tech-kern
Date: 03/06/2006 09:36:08
Izumi Tsutsui wrote:
> In article <440C62F8.8000808@tadpole.com>
> garrett_damore@tadpole.com wrote:
>
>   
>> Is there a way to establish stuff in config so that:
>>
>>     1) an attempt to build a kernel with endianness that doesn't make
>> sense fails in config(8), AND
>>     
>
> config(1) doesn't care ${MACHINE_ARCH} at all, and
> AFAIK the binary format is determined by your toolchain
> though improper toolchain might cause build errors.
>
> We could add some assertion in the board specific source files,
> but I don't know if there is some similar way for config(1) to
> generate such assertions.
>   
Maybe in the Makefiles?   I didn't realize that config doesn't know
about this.  I use build.sh myself.
>   
>>     2) the master releng Makefiles/scripts only bother to build the
>> kernels that make sense for a particular endianness
>>     
>
> For release kernel sets, maybe you could add
> .if ${MACHINE_ARCH} == "mipsel" (or something)
> in etc/etc.evbmips/Makefile.inc?
>   
That sounds like very helpful advice.  I'll look into it.  Thank-you.
>   
>> I also have another question relating to the atheros HAL and endianness
>> in Makefiles.  Is there a way to detect in the kernel Makefiles what
>> endianness is being used and use different dependencies based on that? 
>> (I.e. pick either the big or the little endian HAL properly.)
>>     
>
> According to i386/conf/files.i386, we have to specify the object
> file explicitly, but no mips ports have the entry in -current (yet?).
>   
Yeah, I've looked at the i386 rules.  They are ugly, ugly, ugly.  I have
built a kernel with ath support on MIPS before.  It was not pleasant
figuring out how to do it "properly".

But I think the .if ${MACHINE_ARCH} logic you suggested above will help
with this.  I hope so anyway.  Stay tuned, because I *will* be adding
ath support for the Atheros AR5312 kernel configs when I add them. 
(They have one or two onboard "ath" devices.)

    -- Garrett
> ---
> Izumi Tsutsui
>   


-- 
Garrett D'Amore, Principal Software Engineer
Tadpole Computer / Computing Technologies Division,
General Dynamics C4 Systems
http://www.tadpolecomputer.com/
Phone: 951 325-2134  Fax: 951 325-2191