Riccardo, thanks for your interest.
> Eva,
>
> > IMHO it is not only important to have a competent GUI desktop for linux
> > to make it more popular for home PC users. What I think is missing for the
> > not-so-experienced PC user is an easy to configure installation tool for
> > the kernel configuration. The make menuconfig is not sufficient
> > as it still requires a lot of knowledge about hardware chips and card
> > definitions, IRQs and such which isn't common knowledge to a new PC user.
> >
>
> Are you referring to some kind of autodetection during kernel
> configuration ?
Yes, that's what I am thinking about. The configuration of the cards is
well know by the authors of the device drivers. I would think it would be
very helpful to have a device.config.h file with stanzas for the cards. For
example, the SB PCI/64 has the es1370 chip. The stanza for that card would
include the chip configuration and offer it during the kernel
configuration when the SB is selected. Same for the SysQ, it is known it
uses the epat protocol. IMHO the kernel configuration would be easier if
the relevant option for a card would be offered when selecting the device.
Autodetection is a step further and probably harder to do as it certainly
means a lot of coding. But Win does it so I would think it could be done
in linux as well.
> I ask this because all the config options alredy have useful help that
> explain the meaning of every single option and give some hints about the
> choice the user should make.
Yes, that's certainly there but still requires the user knows about the
correct description of the card. In case you don't have the manual you'd
start up Win, pick up the configuration and then configure the linux
kernel. Is that necessary to go through Win to get the information?
> The only way to automate the configuration process is some kind of
> autodetection ... I am thinking at some user-level program that is capable
> of detect the hardware it is running on and generate a .config file.
As a first step I would think a database with the card specific
definitions would be fine, the autodetection would certainly be the best
solution in the long term.
> main() {
> ....
> detect_processor();
> detect_ide();
> detect_scsi();
> detect_audio();
> ....
> generate_config();
> }
Right, a configuration program would detect the current installed hardware
and put it in a configuration database. The kernel configuration would
display the detected hardware and allow for changes if the user wants to.
This program could be run on a running system as well to detect new
hardware like a new SCSI device and add it with the kerneld or insmod,
so the system wouldn't have to be rebooted. Of course that can not be done
with every hardware, certainly not with cards, but would be make the system
more flexible where it is possible.
> Obviously every single device supported by the kernel should be probed.
> Not a short thing to code :)
Agree, it's not a short term solution. A device.config.h file with stanza
added by the authors of the device drivers would be a start.
> And I am not sure all the devices supported by linux can be probed in user
> space.
>
> And I have never heard about something like this.
HP-UX has a device file with stanzas for the supported hardware and AIX
has a cfgmgr with runs at boot and automatically detects the hardware
installed on the system and loads the relevant drivers. Both don't run
on INTEL hardware. IBM is working on it though. linux does run on the
PowerPC same as AIX does.
Thoughts?
-Eva
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