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From: Terry Lambert <terry@lambert.org>
Message-Id: <199607120554.WAA00690@phaeton.artisoft.com>
Subject: Re: Kernel Config (Was: GENERIC Kernel Debate)
To: joerg_wunsch@uriah.heep.sax.de
Date: Thu, 11 Jul 1996 22:54:47 -0700 (MST)
Cc: freebsd-hackers@FreeBSD.org, sextonr.crestvie@squared.com
In-Reply-To: <199607111918.VAA15753@uriah.heep.sax.de> from "J Wunsch" at Jul 11, 96 09:18:40 pm
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> > Is it possible for us to get away from the use of compilers in kernel 
> > config?
> 
> The problem is that we could no longer use compile-time options.  They
> used to be simple -DFOO macros in the cc command line, and quite many
> have been converted to "opt_foo.h" include options (so the Makefile
> dependencies will work again).  However, converting every (major)
> #ifdef into a run-time configurable option will at least take a long
> time, and it doesn't seem to be *that* desirable at all.

Until you boot -c and want to change the probe-enable flags on com4:.

Then you revel in the sysconfig and the boot -c use the same database
and that such a conversion was thoughfully done by some
sucker^H^H^H^H^H^Hhero.

> AT&T and SCO and [insert your favorite commercial vendor] had a
> totally different driving force to not use compilers -- they simply
> didn't want the users the source code.  Thus, compile-time options
> were out of the question at all.

And they didn't want the users to have bundled compilers.

The reduced disk space requirements for the 95% of the user population
running vertical market software instead of doing developement was
just a happy side-effect.


					Terry Lambert
					terry@lambert.org
---
Any opinions in this posting are my own and not those of my present
or previous employers.