Re: MKPUFFS and other userspace build variables

[Thor Lancelot Simon <tls%rek.tjls.com@localhost>]

On Tue, Dec 30, 2008 at 03:42:01PM +0200, Mikko Rapeli wrote:
> Modularity is good for user space too, so why was MKPUFFS build flag
> removed a while ago? And generally, are new build flags for userspace
> accepted or not?

I concur that this was a mistake.  This kind of change makes it harder
to trim down the build for an environment in which developers have
to repeatedly cross-build the entire system for comprehensive testing
of changes.  Our toolchain gets better (in terms of the code it generates)
and at the same time much worse (in terms of the time it takes to run) so
this is much more painful now than it was once.

I wish we had collectively discussed this more.  I have had the OK
from core to add several _more_ of these "exclude large subtree from
the build" switches for several months but have been lazy about doing
it.  I do wish MKPUFFS had not disappeared because being forced to build
PUFFS in an environment where it will never be used is just one more
thing that boost up the whole-system build time, which is frustrating.

Thor