Kernel configging (was Re: -CURRENT buildkernel failure)

On Thu, Nov 29, 2007 at 09:58:15PM +0000 I heard the voice of
Robert Watson, and lo! it spake thus:
> 
> I have to admit that, these days, I almost always create a new file,
> include GENERIC, set a new ident, and then just add or trim options
> and devices as needed.  While I probably trim a little less from my
> kernel than I used to, I find my upgrade path is much smoother since
> I'm just maintaining my local variations in their own file.

I fiddled with that a little bit when the include and no* got strong
enough to pull it off, but I found it to be more trouble.  Yanking out
out non-present devices takes a LOT of no* lines, and keeping that up
to date is harder than just dealing with the copy.

What I do do these days, though, is use my choice of the current gen
of distributed VCS's (though it's almost an insultingly simple
use-case  ;) to keep copies of GENERIC in one branch, and derive my
config from that.  So part of my pre-buildkernel process is copying in
the new GENERIC to its branch, and merge that over into MYKERNEL.
That makes keeping up with upstream changes easier, as well as giving
me an easy history of what I've done with my config in the past.


-- 
Matthew Fuller     (MF4839)   |  fullermd_at_over-yonder.net
Systems/Network Administrator |  http://www.over-yonder.net/~fullermd/
           On the Internet, nobody can hear you scream.