[Linux-stm32] [Intel-wired-lan] [PATCH net-next] net: kbuild: Don't default net vendor configs to y

[Hisashi T Fujinaka]

On Mon, 31 Jan 2022, Florian Fainelli wrote:

> On 1/31/2022 10:35 AM, Saeed Mahameed wrote:
>> On 31 Jan 19:30, Geert Uytterhoeven wrote:
>>> On Mon, Jan 31, 2022 at 6:59 PM Stephen Hemminger
>>> <stephen at networkplumber.org> wrote:
>>>> On Mon, 31 Jan 2022 09:24:50 -0800
>>>> Saeed Mahameed <saeed at kernel.org> wrote:
>>>> 
>>>> > From: Saeed Mahameed <saeedm at nvidia.com>
>>>> >
>>>> > NET_VENDOR_XYZ were defaulted to 'y' for no technical reason.
>>>> >
>>>> > Since all drivers belonging to a vendor are supposed to default to 'n',
>>>> > defaulting all vendors to 'n' shouldn't be an issue, and aligns well
>>>> > with the 'no new drivers' by default mentality.
>>>> >
>>>> > Signed-off-by: Saeed Mahameed <saeedm at nvidia.com>
>>>> 
>>>> This was done back when vendors were introduced in the network drivers 
>>>> tree.
>>>> The default of Y allowed older configurations to just work.
>>> 
>>> And changing the defaults means all defconfigs must be updated first,
>>> else the user's configs will end up without drivers needed.
>>> 
>> 
>> As I understand correctly, at least for most common net drivers, having 
>> NET_VENDOR_XYZ=y doesn't actually build anything, we have flags per
>> module for each vendor and those are defaulted to N.
>
> Right, but once you start hiding NET_VENDOR_DRIVER_XYZ under a NET_VENDOR_XYZ 
> Kconfig symbol dependency, if NET_VENDOR_XYZ is not set to Y, then you have 
> no way to select NET_VENDOR_DRIVER_XYZ and so your old defconfig breaks.
>
>> 
>>>> So there was a reason, not sure if it matters anymore.
>>>> But it seems like useless repainting to change it now.
>>> 
>>> It might make sense to tune some of the defaults (i.e. change to
>>> "default y if ARCH_*") for drivers with clear platform dependencies.
>>> 
>> 
>> either set hard default to 'n' or just keep it as is, anything else is just
>> more confusion.
>
> Maybe the rule should go like this: any new driver vendor defaults to n, and 
> existing ones remain set to y, until we deprecate doing that and switching 
> them all off to n by 5.18?

Forgive my ignorance, but isn't it a regression if things quit working
even if it's just a configuration change?

>From a user perspective I like having everything turned on initially so
it just works. Pruning things down is a lot easier than trying to figure
out what all to turn on. Especially in graphics.

-- 
Hisashi T Fujinaka - htodd at twofifty.com