Re: A newbie's view

["Seth M. Landsman" <seth@job.cs.brandeis.edu>]

On Fri, Jan 29, 1999 at 12:03:02AM -0000, Thomas Womack wrote:
> >huh?  /usr/src/linux/.config contains your settings.  if you don't lose
> >that file, then moving from kernel to kernel is a matter of "make oldconfig",
> >and occasionally answering questions about new features.

(hmm, I probably nuked the original message).

	This does not help in all cases.  i.e., setting up a new machine.
Or once you add new hardware.  Or if you nuke your kernel tree for some
dumb reason.  Or if you want to take a stock kernel and customize it.

> That's true, and helpful - but it does nothing about the terror you feel the
> first time when you're asked umpteen questions about hardware you don't have and
> options you don't understand. The help text has been getting more helpful, the
> make xconfig is much nicer because you can go back and change your options when
> you realise you didn't read something right, but there's still a feeling that
> I'm being asked about a lot of options which could be probed for.
> 
> ELF format support (Y/N/M)?
> 
> (where N or M make the kernel unbootable)
> 
> is perhaps an extreme example - and you could get around it with just a
> 
> 'You selected N or M for ELF or IDE support. This will probably make the kernel
> unbootable. Press F3 to confirm your choice'
> 
> follow-up line, but ...
> 

	Yes, that would be incredibly useful.  There are a bunch of
obvious options that you almost always want.  They should somehow be more
carefully marked.

-Seth
--
"It is by will alone I set my mind in motion"
-
Linux-future: thinking about the future of the Linux kernel
http://humbolt.nl.linux.org/lists/