X-Git-Url: https://git.sur5r.net/?a=blobdiff_plain;f=docs%2Fkconfig-language.txt;h=262722d8867b2aa9f70f137529dd298e5e36af60;hb=refs%2Fheads%2Fmaster;hp=c858f8419ebafeeb7d700be52c919d6ee0770201;hpb=f8e2db383ac670611c63ee6b16a22254e78d2990;p=kconfig-frontends diff --git a/docs/kconfig-language.txt b/docs/kconfig-language.txt index c858f84..262722d 100644 --- a/docs/kconfig-language.txt +++ b/docs/kconfig-language.txt @@ -113,6 +113,34 @@ applicable everywhere (see syntax). That will limit the usefulness but on the other hand avoid the illegal configurations all over. +- weak reverse dependencies: "imply" ["if" ] + This is similar to "select" as it enforces a lower limit on another + symbol except that the "implied" symbol's value may still be set to n + from a direct dependency or with a visible prompt. + + Given the following example: + + config FOO + tristate + imply BAZ + + config BAZ + tristate + depends on BAR + + The following values are possible: + + FOO BAR BAZ's default choice for BAZ + --- --- ------------- -------------- + n y n N/m/y + m y m M/y/n + y y y Y/n + y n * N + + This is useful e.g. with multiple drivers that want to indicate their + ability to hook into a secondary subsystem while allowing the user to + configure that subsystem out without also having to unset these drivers. + - limiting menu display: "visible if" This attribute is only applicable to menu blocks, if the condition is false, the menu block is not displayed to the user (the symbols @@ -147,6 +175,7 @@ applicable everywhere (see syntax). - "modules" This declares the symbol to be used as the MODULES symbol, which enables the third modular state for all config symbols. + At most one symbol may have the "modules" option set. - "env"= This imports the environment variable into Kconfig. It behaves like @@ -156,6 +185,10 @@ applicable everywhere (see syntax). to the build environment (if this is desired, it can be done via another symbol). + - "allnoconfig_y" + This declares the symbol as one that should have the value y when + using "allnoconfig". Used for symbols that hide other symbols. + Menu dependencies ----------------- @@ -236,9 +269,8 @@ comment "module support disabled" depends on !MODULES MODVERSIONS directly depends on MODULES, this means it's only visible if -MODULES is different from 'n'. The comment on the other hand is always -visible when MODULES is visible (the (empty) dependency of MODULES is -also part of the comment dependencies). +MODULES is different from 'n'. The comment on the other hand is only +visible when MODULES is set to 'n'. Kconfig syntax @@ -270,7 +302,44 @@ menuconfig: This is similar to the simple config entry above, but it also gives a hint to front ends, that all suboptions should be displayed as a -separate list of options. +separate list of options. To make sure all the suboptions will really +show up under the menuconfig entry and not outside of it, every item +from the list must depend on the menuconfig symbol. +In practice, this is achieved by using one of the next two constructs: + +(1): +menuconfig M +if M + config C1 + config C2 +endif + +(2): +menuconfig M +config C1 + depends on M +config C2 + depends on M + +In the following examples (3) and (4), C1 and C2 still have the M +dependency, but will not appear under menuconfig M anymore, because +of C0, which doesn't depend on M: + +(3): +menuconfig M + config C0 +if M + config C1 + config C2 +endif + +(4): +menuconfig M +config C0 +config C1 + depends on M +config C2 + depends on M choices: @@ -280,12 +349,17 @@ choices: "endchoice" This defines a choice group and accepts any of the above attributes as -options. A choice can only be of type bool or tristate, while a boolean -choice only allows a single config entry to be selected, a tristate -choice also allows any number of config entries to be set to 'm'. This -can be used if multiple drivers for a single hardware exists and only a -single driver can be compiled/loaded into the kernel, but all drivers -can be compiled as modules. +options. A choice can only be of type bool or tristate. If no type is +specified for a choice, it's type will be determined by the type of +the first choice element in the group or remain unknown if none of the +choice elements have a type specified, as well. + +While a boolean choice only allows a single config entry to be +selected, a tristate choice also allows any number of config entries +to be set to 'm'. This can be used if multiple drivers for a single +hardware exists and only a single driver can be compiled/loaded into +the kernel, but all drivers can be compiled as modules. + A choice accepts another option "optional", which allows to set the choice to 'n' and no entry needs to be selected. If no [symbol] is associated with a choice, then you can not have multiple @@ -388,3 +462,165 @@ config FOO depends on BAR && m limits FOO to module (=m) or disabled (=n). + +Kconfig recursive dependency limitations +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ + +If you've hit the Kconfig error: "recursive dependency detected" you've run +into a recursive dependency issue with Kconfig, a recursive dependency can be +summarized as a circular dependency. The kconfig tools need to ensure that +Kconfig files comply with specified configuration requirements. In order to do +that kconfig must determine the values that are possible for all Kconfig +symbols, this is currently not possible if there is a circular relation +between two or more Kconfig symbols. For more details refer to the "Simple +Kconfig recursive issue" subsection below. Kconfig does not do recursive +dependency resolution; this has a few implications for Kconfig file writers. +We'll first explain why this issues exists and then provide an example +technical limitation which this brings upon Kconfig developers. Eager +developers wishing to try to address this limitation should read the next +subsections. + +Simple Kconfig recursive issue +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ + +Read: Documentation/kbuild/Kconfig.recursion-issue-01 + +Test with: + +make KBUILD_KCONFIG=Documentation/kbuild/Kconfig.recursion-issue-01 allnoconfig + +Cumulative Kconfig recursive issue +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ + +Read: Documentation/kbuild/Kconfig.recursion-issue-02 + +Test with: + +make KBUILD_KCONFIG=Documentation/kbuild/Kconfig.recursion-issue-02 allnoconfig + +Practical solutions to kconfig recursive issue +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ + +Developers who run into the recursive Kconfig issue have three options +at their disposal. We document them below and also provide a list of +historical issues resolved through these different solutions. + + a) Remove any superfluous "select FOO" or "depends on FOO" + b) Match dependency semantics: + b1) Swap all "select FOO" to "depends on FOO" or, + b2) Swap all "depends on FOO" to "select FOO" + c) Consider the use of "imply" instead of "select" + +The resolution to a) can be tested with the sample Kconfig file +Documentation/kbuild/Kconfig.recursion-issue-01 through the removal +of the "select CORE" from CORE_BELL_A_ADVANCED as that is implicit already +since CORE_BELL_A depends on CORE. At times it may not be possible to remove +some dependency criteria, for such cases you can work with solution b). + +The two different resolutions for b) can be tested in the sample Kconfig file +Documentation/kbuild/Kconfig.recursion-issue-02. + +Below is a list of examples of prior fixes for these types of recursive issues; +all errors appear to involve one or more select's and one or more "depends on". + +commit fix +====== === +06b718c01208 select A -> depends on A +c22eacfe82f9 depends on A -> depends on B +6a91e854442c select A -> depends on A +118c565a8f2e select A -> select B +f004e5594705 select A -> depends on A +c7861f37b4c6 depends on A -> (null) +80c69915e5fb select A -> (null) (1) +c2218e26c0d0 select A -> depends on A (1) +d6ae99d04e1c select A -> depends on A +95ca19cf8cbf select A -> depends on A +8f057d7bca54 depends on A -> (null) +8f057d7bca54 depends on A -> select A +a0701f04846e select A -> depends on A +0c8b92f7f259 depends on A -> (null) +e4e9e0540928 select A -> depends on A (2) +7453ea886e87 depends on A > (null) (1) +7b1fff7e4fdf select A -> depends on A +86c747d2a4f0 select A -> depends on A +d9f9ab51e55e select A -> depends on A +0c51a4d8abd6 depends on A -> select A (3) +e98062ed6dc4 select A -> depends on A (3) +91e5d284a7f1 select A -> (null) + +(1) Partial (or no) quote of error. +(2) That seems to be the gist of that fix. +(3) Same error. + +Future kconfig work +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ + +Work on kconfig is welcomed on both areas of clarifying semantics and on +evaluating the use of a full SAT solver for it. A full SAT solver can be +desirable to enable more complex dependency mappings and / or queries, +for instance on possible use case for a SAT solver could be that of handling +the current known recursive dependency issues. It is not known if this would +address such issues but such evaluation is desirable. If support for a full SAT +solver proves too complex or that it cannot address recursive dependency issues +Kconfig should have at least clear and well defined semantics which also +addresses and documents limitations or requirements such as the ones dealing +with recursive dependencies. + +Further work on both of these areas is welcomed on Kconfig. We elaborate +on both of these in the next two subsections. + +Semantics of Kconfig +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ + +The use of Kconfig is broad, Linux is now only one of Kconfig's users: +one study has completed a broad analysis of Kconfig use in 12 projects [0]. +Despite its widespread use, and although this document does a reasonable job +in documenting basic Kconfig syntax a more precise definition of Kconfig +semantics is welcomed. One project deduced Kconfig semantics through +the use of the xconfig configurator [1]. Work should be done to confirm if +the deduced semantics matches our intended Kconfig design goals. + +Having well defined semantics can be useful for tools for practical +evaluation of depenencies, for instance one such use known case was work to +express in boolean abstraction of the inferred semantics of Kconfig to +translate Kconfig logic into boolean formulas and run a SAT solver on this to +find dead code / features (always inactive), 114 dead features were found in +Linux using this methodology [1] (Section 8: Threats to validity). + +Confirming this could prove useful as Kconfig stands as one of the the leading +industrial variability modeling languages [1] [2]. Its study would help +evaluate practical uses of such languages, their use was only theoretical +and real world requirements were not well understood. As it stands though +only reverse engineering techniques have been used to deduce semantics from +variability modeling languages such as Kconfig [3]. + +[0] http://www.eng.uwaterloo.ca/~shshe/kconfig_semantics.pdf +[1] http://gsd.uwaterloo.ca/sites/default/files/vm-2013-berger.pdf +[2] http://gsd.uwaterloo.ca/sites/default/files/ase241-berger_0.pdf +[3] http://gsd.uwaterloo.ca/sites/default/files/icse2011.pdf + +Full SAT solver for Kconfig +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ + +Although SAT solvers [0] haven't yet been used by Kconfig directly, as noted in +the previous subsection, work has been done however to express in boolean +abstraction the inferred semantics of Kconfig to translate Kconfig logic into +boolean formulas and run a SAT solver on it [1]. Another known related project +is CADOS [2] (former VAMOS [3]) and the tools, mainly undertaker [4], which has +been introduced first with [5]. The basic concept of undertaker is to exract +variability models from Kconfig, and put them together with a propositional +formula extracted from CPP #ifdefs and build-rules into a SAT solver in order +to find dead code, dead files, and dead symbols. If using a SAT solver is +desirable on Kconfig one approach would be to evaluate repurposing such efforts +somehow on Kconfig. There is enough interest from mentors of existing projects +to not only help advise how to integrate this work upstream but also help +maintain it long term. Interested developers should visit: + +http://kernelnewbies.org/KernelProjects/kconfig-sat + +[0] http://www.cs.cornell.edu/~sabhar/chapters/SATSolvers-KR-Handbook.pdf +[1] http://gsd.uwaterloo.ca/sites/default/files/vm-2013-berger.pdf +[2] https://cados.cs.fau.de +[3] https://vamos.cs.fau.de +[4] https://undertaker.cs.fau.de +[5] https://www4.cs.fau.de/Publications/2011/tartler_11_eurosys.pdf