[PATCH v4 0/1] Documentation: bootconfig: Documentaiton updates

[PATCH v4 0/1] Documentation: bootconfig: Documentaiton updates

[Masami Hiramatsu]

Hi,

Here is the 4th version of the documentation update.
This removes O= option from example. (This feature will be
implemented in another series.)

Thank you,

---

Masami Hiramatsu (1):
      Documentation: bootconfig: Update boot configuration documentation


 Documentation/admin-guide/bootconfig.rst |  181 +++++++++++++++++++-----------
 Documentation/trace/boottime-trace.rst   |    2 
 2 files changed, 117 insertions(+), 66 deletions(-)

--
Masami Hiramatsu (Linaro) <mhiramat@kernel.org>

[PATCH v4] Documentation: bootconfig: Update boot configuration documentation

[Masami Hiramatsu]

Update boot configuration documentation.

 - Not using "config" abbreviation but configuration or description.
 - Rewrite descriptions of node and its maxinum number.
 - Add a section of use cases of boot configuration.
 - Move how to use bootconfig to earlier section.
 - Fix some typos, indents and format mistakes.

Signed-off-by: Masami Hiramatsu <mhiramat@kernel.org>
---
Changes in v4:
 - Remove O= option from examples.
Changes in v3:
 - Specify that comments also count in size.
 - Fix a confusing sentence.
 - Add O=<builddir> to make command.
Changes in v2:
 - Fixes additional typos (Thanks Markus and Randy!)
 - Change a section title to "Tree Structured Key".
---
 Documentation/admin-guide/bootconfig.rst |  181 +++++++++++++++++++-----------
 Documentation/trace/boottime-trace.rst   |    2 
 2 files changed, 117 insertions(+), 66 deletions(-)

diff --git a/Documentation/admin-guide/bootconfig.rst b/Documentation/admin-guide/bootconfig.rst
index cf2edcd09183..b719b257b579 100644
--- a/Documentation/admin-guide/bootconfig.rst
+++ b/Documentation/admin-guide/bootconfig.rst
@@ -11,19 +11,99 @@ Boot Configuration
 Overview
 ========
 
-The boot configuration expands the current kernel command line to support
-additional key-value data when booting the kernel in an efficient way.
-This allows administrators to pass a structured-Key config file.
+Boot configuration expands the current kernel command line to support
+additional key-value data while booting the kernel in an efficient way.
+This allows administrators to pass a structured key configuration file
+as a way to supplement the kernel command line to pass system boot parameters.
 
-Config File Syntax
-==================
+Compared with the kernel command line, the boot configuration can provide
+scalability (up to 32 KiB configuration data including comments), readability
+(structured configuration with comments) and compact expression of option
+groups.
+
+When to Use the Boot Configuration?
+-----------------------------------
+
+The boot configuration supports kernel command line options and init daemon
+boot options. All sub-keys under "kernel" root key are passed as a part of
+kernel command line [1]_, and ones under "init" root key are passed as a part
+of init command line. For example, ::
+
+   root=UUID=8cd79b08-bda0-4b9d-954c-5d5f34b98c82 ro quiet splash console=ttyS0,115200n8 console=tty0
+
+This can be written as following boot configuration file.::
+
+   kernel {
+      root = "UUID=8cd79b08-bda0-4b9d-954c-5d5f34b98c82" # nvme0n1p3
+      ro       # mount rootfs as read only
+      quiet    # No console log
+      splash   # show splash image on boot screen
+      console = "ttyS0,115200n8" # 1st console to serial device
+      console += tty0            # add 2nd console
+   }
+
+If you think that kernel/init options becomes too long to write in boot-loader
+configuration file or you want to comment on each option, the boot
+configuration may be suitable. If unsure, you can still continue to use the
+legacy kernel command line.
+
+Also, some features may depend on the boot configuration, and it has own
+root key. For example, ftrace boot-time tracer uses "ftrace" root key to
+describe its options [2]_. If you want to use such features, you need to
+enable the boot configuration.
+
+.. [1] See :ref:`Documentation/admin-guide/kernel-parameters.rst <kernelparameters>`
+.. [2] See :ref:`Documentation/trace/boottime-trace.rst <boottimetrace>`
+
+
+How to Use the Boot Configuration?
+----------------------------------
+
+To enable the boot configuration support on your kernel, it must be built with
+``CONFIG_BOOT_CONFIG=y`` and ``CONFIG_BLK_DEV_INITRD=y``.
+
+Next, you can write a boot configuration file and attach it to initrd image.
+
+The boot configuration file is attached to the end of the initrd (initramfs)
+image file with size, checksum and 12-byte magic word as below.
+
+[initrd][bootconfig][size(u32)][checksum(u32)][#BOOTCONFIG\n]
+
+The Linux kernel decodes the last part of the initrd image in memory to
+get the boot configuration data.
+Because of this "piggyback" method, there is no need to change or
+update the boot loader and the kernel image itself.
+
+To do this operation, Linux kernel provides "bootconfig" command under
+tools/bootconfig, which allows admin to apply or delete the configuration
+file to/from initrd image. You can build it by the following command::
+
+ # make -C tools/bootconfig
+
+To add your boot configuration file to initrd image, run bootconfig as below
+(Old data is removed automatically if exists)::
+
+ # tools/bootconfig/bootconfig -a your-config /boot/initrd.img-X.Y.Z
 
-The boot config syntax is a simple structured key-value. Each key consists
-of dot-connected-words, and key and value are connected by ``=``. The value
-has to be terminated by semi-colon (``;``) or newline (``\n``).
+To remove the configuration from the image, you can use -d option as below::
+
+ # tools/bootconfig/bootconfig -d /boot/initrd.img-X.Y.Z
+
+At last, add ``bootconfig`` on the normal kernel command line to tell the
+kernel to look for the bootconfig at the end of the initrd file. For example::
+
+  GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX="bootconfig"
+
+
+Boot Configuration Syntax
+=========================
+
+The boot configuration syntax is a simple structured key-value. Each key
+consists of dot-connected-words, and key and value are connected by ``=``.
+The value has to be terminated by semi-colon (``;``) or newline (``\n``).
 For array value, array entries are separated by comma (``,``). ::
 
-KEY[.WORD[...]] = VALUE[, VALUE2[...]][;]
+  KEY[.WORD[...]] = VALUE[, VALUE2[...]][;]
 
 Unlike the kernel command line syntax, spaces are OK around the comma and ``=``.
 
@@ -39,11 +119,11 @@ you can not escape these quotes.
 There can be a key which doesn't have value or has an empty value. Those keys
 are used for checking if the key exists or not (like a boolean).
 
-Key-Value Syntax
-----------------
+Tree Structured Key
+-------------------
 
-The boot config file syntax allows user to merge partially same word keys
-by brace. For example::
+The boot configuration syntax allows user to merge same parent key using
+braces as tree structured key. For example::
 
  foo.bar.baz = value1
  foo.bar.qux.quux = value2
@@ -80,19 +160,17 @@ you can use ``+=`` operator. For example::
 In this case, the key ``foo`` has ``bar``, ``baz`` and ``qux``.
 
 However, a sub-key and a value can not co-exist under a parent key.
-For example, following config is NOT allowed.::
+For example, following configuration is NOT allowed.::
 
  foo = value1
- foo.bar = value2 # !ERROR! subkey "bar" and value "value1" can NOT co-exist
+ foo.bar = value2 # !ERROR! sub-key "bar" and value "value1" can NOT co-exist
 
 
 Comments
 --------
 
-The config syntax accepts shell-script style comments. The comments starting
-with hash ("#") until newline ("\n") will be ignored.
-
-::
+The boot configuration accepts shell-script style comments. The comments
+starting with hash (``#``) until newline (``\n``), will be skipped.::
 
  # comment line
  foo = value # value is set to foo.
@@ -100,74 +178,45 @@ with hash ("#") until newline ("\n") will be ignored.
        2, # 2nd element
        3  # 3rd element
 
-This is parsed as below::
+This is parsed as below.::
 
  foo = value
  bar = 1, 2, 3
 
 Note that you can not put a comment between value and delimiter(``,`` or
-``;``). This means following config has a syntax error ::
+``;``). This means following description has a syntax error. ::
 
- key = 1 # comment
+ key = 1 # !ERROR! comment is not allowed before delimiter
        ,2
 
 
 /proc/bootconfig
 ================
 
-/proc/bootconfig is a user-space interface of the boot config.
+The file /proc/bootconfig is a user-space interface to the configuration
+of system boot parameters.
 Unlike /proc/cmdline, this file shows the key-value style list.
 Each key-value pair is shown in each line with following style::
 
  KEY[.WORDS...] = "[VALUE]"[,"VALUE2"...]
 
 
-Boot Kernel With a Boot Config
-==============================
-
-Since the boot configuration file is loaded with initrd, it will be added
-to the end of the initrd (initramfs) image file with size, checksum and
-12-byte magic word as below.
-
-[initrd][bootconfig][size(u32)][checksum(u32)][#BOOTCONFIG\n]
-
-The Linux kernel decodes the last part of the initrd image in memory to
-get the boot configuration data.
-Because of this "piggyback" method, there is no need to change or
-update the boot loader and the kernel image itself.
-
-To do this operation, Linux kernel provides "bootconfig" command under
-tools/bootconfig, which allows admin to apply or delete the config file
-to/from initrd image. You can build it by the following command::
-
- # make -C tools/bootconfig
-
-To add your boot config file to initrd image, run bootconfig as below
-(Old data is removed automatically if exists)::
-
- # tools/bootconfig/bootconfig -a your-config /boot/initrd.img-X.Y.Z
-
-To remove the config from the image, you can use -d option as below::
-
- # tools/bootconfig/bootconfig -d /boot/initrd.img-X.Y.Z
-
-Then add "bootconfig" on the normal kernel command line to tell the
-kernel to look for the bootconfig at the end of the initrd file.
-
 Config File Limitation
 ======================
 
-Currently the maximum config size size is 32KB and the total key-words (not
-key-value entries) must be under 1024 nodes.
-Note: this is not the number of entries but nodes, an entry must consume
-more than 2 nodes (a key-word and a value). So theoretically, it will be
-up to 512 key-value pairs. If keys contains 3 words in average, it can
-contain 256 key-value pairs. In most cases, the number of config items
-will be under 100 entries and smaller than 8KB, so it would be enough.
+Currently the maximum configuration file size (including comments) is 32 KiB
+and the total number of key-words and values must be under 1024 nodes.
+(Note: Each key consists of words separated by dot, and value also consists
+of values separated by comma. Here, each word and each value is generally
+called a "node".)
+Theoretically, it will be up to 512 key-value pairs. If keys contains 3
+words in average, it can contain 256 key-value pairs. In most cases,
+the number of configuration items will be under 100 entries and smaller
+than 8 KiB, so it would be enough.
 If the node number exceeds 1024, parser returns an error even if the file
-size is smaller than 32KB.
-Anyway, since bootconfig command verifies it when appending a boot config
-to initrd image, user can notice it before boot.
+size is smaller than 32 KiB.
+Anyway, since bootconfig command verifies it when appending a boot
+configuration to initrd image, user need to fix it before boot.
 
 
 Bootconfig APIs
@@ -206,7 +255,7 @@ or get the named array under prefix as below::
 This accesses a value of "key.prefix.option" and an array of
 "key.prefix.array-option".
 
-Locking is not needed, since after initialization, the config becomes
+Locking is not needed, since after initialization, the configuration becomes
 read-only. All data and keys must be copied if you need to modify it.
 
 
diff --git a/Documentation/trace/boottime-trace.rst b/Documentation/trace/boottime-trace.rst
index dcb390075ca1..e6cbe22361e9 100644
--- a/Documentation/trace/boottime-trace.rst
+++ b/Documentation/trace/boottime-trace.rst
@@ -1,5 +1,7 @@
 .. SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0
 
+.. _boottimetrace:
+
 =================
 Boot-time tracing
 =================

Re: [PATCH v4] Documentation: bootconfig: Update boot configuration documentation

[Markus Elfring]

> Changes in v4:
>  - Remove O= option from examples.

Will any more constructive responses follow according to previous review comments?


…
> +++ b/Documentation/admin-guide/bootconfig.rst
…
> +… If keys contains 3

Wording correction “… keys contain …”?


Would you like to improve the provided information at any more places
(besides typos)?

Regards,
Markus

Re: [PATCH v4] Documentation: bootconfig: Update boot configuration documentation

[Randy Dunlap]

Hi again,  :)

On 3/3/20 1:05 AM, Masami Hiramatsu wrote:
> Update boot configuration documentation.
> 
>  - Not using "config" abbreviation but configuration or description.
>  - Rewrite descriptions of node and its maxinum number.
>  - Add a section of use cases of boot configuration.
>  - Move how to use bootconfig to earlier section.
>  - Fix some typos, indents and format mistakes.
> 
> Signed-off-by: Masami Hiramatsu <mhiramat@kernel.org>
> ---
> Changes in v4:
>  - Remove O= option from examples.
> Changes in v3:
>  - Specify that comments also count in size.
>  - Fix a confusing sentence.
>  - Add O=<builddir> to make command.
> Changes in v2:
>  - Fixes additional typos (Thanks Markus and Randy!)
>  - Change a section title to "Tree Structured Key".
> ---
>  Documentation/admin-guide/bootconfig.rst |  181 +++++++++++++++++++-----------
>  Documentation/trace/boottime-trace.rst   |    2 
>  2 files changed, 117 insertions(+), 66 deletions(-)
> 
> diff --git a/Documentation/admin-guide/bootconfig.rst b/Documentation/admin-guide/bootconfig.rst
> index cf2edcd09183..b719b257b579 100644
> --- a/Documentation/admin-guide/bootconfig.rst
> +++ b/Documentation/admin-guide/bootconfig.rst
> @@ -11,19 +11,99 @@ Boot Configuration
>  Overview
>  ========
>  
> -The boot configuration expands the current kernel command line to support
> -additional key-value data when booting the kernel in an efficient way.
> -This allows administrators to pass a structured-Key config file.
> +Boot configuration expands the current kernel command line to support
> +additional key-value data while booting the kernel in an efficient way.
> +This allows administrators to pass a structured key configuration file
> +as a way to supplement the kernel command line to pass system boot parameters.
>  
> -Config File Syntax
> -==================
> +Compared with the kernel command line, the boot configuration can provide
> +scalability (up to 32 KiB configuration data including comments), readability
> +(structured configuration with comments) and compact expression of option
> +groups.
> +
> +When to Use the Boot Configuration?
> +-----------------------------------
> +
> +The boot configuration supports kernel command line options and init daemon
> +boot options. All sub-keys under "kernel" root key are passed as a part of
> +kernel command line [1]_, and ones under "init" root key are passed as a part
> +of init command line. For example, ::
> +
> +   root=UUID=8cd79b08-bda0-4b9d-954c-5d5f34b98c82 ro quiet splash console=ttyS0,115200n8 console=tty0
> +
> +This can be written as following boot configuration file.::
> +
> +   kernel {
> +      root = "UUID=8cd79b08-bda0-4b9d-954c-5d5f34b98c82" # nvme0n1p3
> +      ro       # mount rootfs as read only
> +      quiet    # No console log
> +      splash   # show splash image on boot screen
> +      console = "ttyS0,115200n8" # 1st console to serial device
> +      console += tty0            # add 2nd console
> +   }
> +
> +If you think that kernel/init options becomes too long to write in boot-loader
> +configuration file or you want to comment on each option, the boot
> +configuration may be suitable. If unsure, you can still continue to use the
> +legacy kernel command line.
> +
> +Also, some features may depend on the boot configuration, and it has own

                                                             and each such
feature has its own root key.

> +root key. For example, ftrace boot-time tracer uses "ftrace" root key to
> +describe its options [2]_. If you want to use such features, you need to
> +enable the boot configuration.
> +
> +.. [1] See :ref:`Documentation/admin-guide/kernel-parameters.rst <kernelparameters>`
> +.. [2] See :ref:`Documentation/trace/boottime-trace.rst <boottimetrace>`
> +
> +
> +How to Use the Boot Configuration?
> +----------------------------------
> +
> +To enable the boot configuration support on your kernel, it must be built with
> +``CONFIG_BOOT_CONFIG=y`` and ``CONFIG_BLK_DEV_INITRD=y``.
> +
> +Next, you can write a boot configuration file and attach it to initrd image.
> +
> +The boot configuration file is attached to the end of the initrd (initramfs)
> +image file with size, checksum and 12-byte magic word as below.
> +
> +[initrd][bootconfig][size(u32)][checksum(u32)][#BOOTCONFIG\n]
> +
> +The Linux kernel decodes the last part of the initrd image in memory to
> +get the boot configuration data.
> +Because of this "piggyback" method, there is no need to change or
> +update the boot loader and the kernel image itself.

              boot loader or the kernel image itself.

> +
> +To do this operation, Linux kernel provides "bootconfig" command under

                                      provides the "bootconfig" command under

> +tools/bootconfig, which allows admin to apply or delete the configuration
> +file to/from initrd image. You can build it by the following command::

        to/from an initrd image.

> +
> + # make -C tools/bootconfig
> +
> +To add your boot configuration file to initrd image, run bootconfig as below

                                       to an initrd image,

> +(Old data is removed automatically if exists)::

                                      if it exists)::

> +
> + # tools/bootconfig/bootconfig -a your-config /boot/initrd.img-X.Y.Z
>  
> -The boot config syntax is a simple structured key-value. Each key consists
> -of dot-connected-words, and key and value are connected by ``=``. The value
> -has to be terminated by semi-colon (``;``) or newline (``\n``).
> +To remove the configuration from the image, you can use -d option as below::

                                               you can use the -d option as below::

> +
> + # tools/bootconfig/bootconfig -d /boot/initrd.img-X.Y.Z
> +
> +At last, add ``bootconfig`` on the normal kernel command line to tell the
> +kernel to look for the bootconfig at the end of the initrd file. For example::
> +
> +  GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX="bootconfig"
> +
> +
> +Boot Configuration Syntax
> +=========================
> +
> +The boot configuration syntax is a simple structured key-value. Each key
> +consists of dot-connected-words, and key and value are connected by ``=``.
> +The value has to be terminated by semi-colon (``;``) or newline (``\n``).
>  For array value, array entries are separated by comma (``,``). ::

             values,
or just
   For an array, its entries are separated by


>  
> -KEY[.WORD[...]] = VALUE[, VALUE2[...]][;]
> +  KEY[.WORD[...]] = VALUE[, VALUE2[...]][;]
>  
>  Unlike the kernel command line syntax, spaces are OK around the comma and ``=``.
>  
> @@ -39,11 +119,11 @@ you can not escape these quotes.
>  There can be a key which doesn't have value or has an empty value. Those keys
>  are used for checking if the key exists or not (like a boolean).
>  
> -Key-Value Syntax
> -----------------
> +Tree Structured Key
> +-------------------
>  
> -The boot config file syntax allows user to merge partially same word keys
> -by brace. For example::
> +The boot configuration syntax allows user to merge same parent key using

                                 allows the user
although I am having problems with the rest of that sentence.

> +braces as tree structured key. For example::
>  
>   foo.bar.baz = value1
>   foo.bar.qux.quux = value2
> @@ -80,19 +160,17 @@ you can use ``+=`` operator. For example::
>  In this case, the key ``foo`` has ``bar``, ``baz`` and ``qux``.
>  
>  However, a sub-key and a value can not co-exist under a parent key.
> -For example, following config is NOT allowed.::
> +For example, following configuration is NOT allowed.::

       example, the following

>  
>   foo = value1
> - foo.bar = value2 # !ERROR! subkey "bar" and value "value1" can NOT co-exist
> + foo.bar = value2 # !ERROR! sub-key "bar" and value "value1" can NOT co-exist
>  
>  
>  Comments
>  --------
>  
> -The config syntax accepts shell-script style comments. The comments starting
> -with hash ("#") until newline ("\n") will be ignored.
> -
> -::
> +The boot configuration accepts shell-script style comments. The comments
> +starting with hash (``#``) until newline (``\n``), will be skipped.::

no comma.  or 2 commas:

                                                               The comments,
beginning with hash (``#``) and continuing until newline (``\n``), will be skipped.::

>  
>   # comment line
>   foo = value # value is set to foo.
> @@ -100,74 +178,45 @@ with hash ("#") until newline ("\n") will be ignored.
>         2, # 2nd element
>         3  # 3rd element
>  
> -This is parsed as below::
> +This is parsed as below.::
>  
>   foo = value
>   bar = 1, 2, 3
>  
>  Note that you can not put a comment between value and delimiter(``,`` or
> -``;``). This means following config has a syntax error ::
> +``;``). This means following description has a syntax error. ::

           This means the following

>  
> - key = 1 # comment
> + key = 1 # !ERROR! comment is not allowed before delimiter
>         ,2
>  
>  
>  /proc/bootconfig
>  ================
>  

[snip]

>  Config File Limitation
>  ======================
>  
> -Currently the maximum config size size is 32KB and the total key-words (not
> -key-value entries) must be under 1024 nodes.
> -Note: this is not the number of entries but nodes, an entry must consume
> -more than 2 nodes (a key-word and a value). So theoretically, it will be
> -up to 512 key-value pairs. If keys contains 3 words in average, it can
> -contain 256 key-value pairs. In most cases, the number of config items
> -will be under 100 entries and smaller than 8KB, so it would be enough.
> +Currently the maximum configuration file size (including comments) is 32 KiB
> +and the total number of key-words and values must be under 1024 nodes.
> +(Note: Each key consists of words separated by dot, and value also consists
> +of values separated by comma. Here, each word and each value is generally
> +called a "node".)

[blank line would be nice here]

> +Theoretically, it will be up to 512 key-value pairs. If keys contains 3
> +words in average, it can contain 256 key-value pairs. In most cases,
> +the number of configuration items will be under 100 entries and smaller
> +than 8 KiB, so it would be enough.
>  If the node number exceeds 1024, parser returns an error even if the file

                                    the parser

> -size is smaller than 32KB.
> -Anyway, since bootconfig command verifies it when appending a boot config
> -to initrd image, user can notice it before boot.
> +size is smaller than 32 KiB.
> +Anyway, since bootconfig command verifies it when appending a boot

           since the bootconfig command

> +configuration to initrd image, user need to fix it before boot.

                 to an initrd image, the user needs to fix any errors before boot.


-- 
~Randy

Re: [PATCH v4] Documentation: bootconfig: Update boot configuration documentation

[Masami Hiramatsu]

Hi Randy,

Thanks for review and good suggestions!

On Tue, 3 Mar 2020 20:55:39 -0800
Randy Dunlap <rdunlap@infradead.org> wrote:

> > +Boot Configuration Syntax
> > +=========================
> > +
> > +The boot configuration syntax is a simple structured key-value. Each key
> > +consists of dot-connected-words, and key and value are connected by ``=``.
> > +The value has to be terminated by semi-colon (``;``) or newline (``\n``).
> >  For array value, array entries are separated by comma (``,``). ::
> 
>              values,
> or just
>    For an array, its entries are separated by

I like this latter one.

[...]
> > +Tree Structured Key
> > +-------------------
> >  
> > -The boot config file syntax allows user to merge partially same word keys
> > -by brace. For example::
> > +The boot configuration syntax allows user to merge same parent key using
> 
>                                  allows the user
> although I am having problems with the rest of that sentence.

What about the following?

User can group identical parent keys together and use braces to list child keys
under them.

Thank you,

-- 
Masami Hiramatsu <mhiramat@kernel.org>

Re: [v4] Documentation: bootconfig: Update boot configuration documentation

[Markus Elfring]

> What about the following?
>
> User can group identical parent keys together and use braces to list child keys
> under them.

Another wording alternative:

The user can group settings together. Curly brackets enclose a configuration then
according to a parent context.

Regards,
Markus

Re: [v4] Documentation: bootconfig: Update boot configuration documentation

[Randy Dunlap]

On 3/4/20 6:45 AM, Markus Elfring wrote:
>> What about the following?
>>
>> User can group identical parent keys together and use braces to list child keys

   The user
(as Markus noted)

>> under them.
> 
> Another wording alternative:
> 
> The user can group settings together. Curly brackets enclose a configuration then
> according to a parent context.

I slightly prefer Masami's text.

-- 
~Randy

Re: [v4] Documentation: bootconfig: Update boot configuration documentation

[Markus Elfring]

>>> What about the following?
>>>
>>> User can group identical parent keys together and use braces to list child keys
>
>    The user
…
>>> under them.
>>
>> Another wording alternative:
>>
>> The user can group settings together. Curly brackets enclose a configuration then
>> according to a parent context.
>
> I slightly prefer Masami's text.

Would you like to improve the distinction for grouping the involved items?

Regards,
Markus

Re: [v4] Documentation: bootconfig: Update boot configuration documentation

[Randy Dunlap]

On 3/4/20 10:09 AM, Markus Elfring wrote:
>>>> What about the following?
>>>>
>>>> User can group identical parent keys together and use braces to list child keys
>>
>>    The user
> …
>>>> under them.
>>>
>>> Another wording alternative:
>>>
>>> The user can group settings together. Curly brackets enclose a configuration then
>>> according to a parent context.
>>
>> I slightly prefer Masami's text.
> 
> Would you like to improve the distinction for grouping the involved items?

I'm hoping to be done with the current changes. :)

-- 
~Randy

Re: [v4] Documentation: bootconfig: Update boot configuration documentation

[Markus Elfring]

> I'm hoping to be done with the current changes. :)

Will a term like “grouping of parent keys” need any additional explanation?

Regards,
Markus

Re: [v4] Documentation: bootconfig: Update boot configuration documentation

[Jonathan Corbet]

On Wed, 4 Mar 2020 22:20:07 +0100
Markus Elfring <Markus.Elfring@web.de> wrote:

> > I'm hoping to be done with the current changes. :)  
> 
> Will a term like “grouping of parent keys” need any additional explanation?

Honestly, Markus, I think that the patch is good enough for now; time to
merge it and move on to something else.

Thanks,

jon

Re: [v4] Documentation: bootconfig: Update boot configuration documentation

[Markus Elfring]

> Honestly, Markus, I think that the patch is good enough for now; time to
> merge it and move on to something else.

I pointed a few details out for further considerations.
I am curious if they will get more attention for the desired clarification.

Regards,
Markus

Re: [v4] Documentation: bootconfig: Update boot configuration documentation

[Masami Hiramatsu]

On Wed, 4 Mar 2020 14:22:59 -0700
Jonathan Corbet <corbet@lwn.net> wrote:

> On Wed, 4 Mar 2020 22:20:07 +0100
> Markus Elfring <Markus.Elfring@web.de> wrote:
> 
> > > I'm hoping to be done with the current changes. :)  
> > 
> > Will a term like “grouping of parent keys” need any additional explanation?
> 
> Honestly, Markus, I think that the patch is good enough for now; time to
> merge it and move on to something else.

Thanks Jon,

I'll send the final version soon.

-- 
Masami Hiramatsu <mhiramat@kernel.org>

Re: [v4] Documentation: bootconfig: Update boot configuration documentation

[Masami Hiramatsu]

On Wed, 4 Mar 2020 08:20:35 -0800
Randy Dunlap <rdunlap@infradead.org> wrote:

> On 3/4/20 6:45 AM, Markus Elfring wrote:
> >> What about the following?
> >>
> >> User can group identical parent keys together and use braces to list child keys
> 
>    The user
> (as Markus noted)

OK.

> 
> >> under them.
> > 
> > Another wording alternative:
> > 
> > The user can group settings together. Curly brackets enclose a configuration then
> > according to a parent context.
> 
> I slightly prefer Masami's text.

Thank you,

-- 
Masami Hiramatsu <mhiramat@kernel.org>

Re: [v4 0/1] Documentation: bootconfig: Documentation updates

[Markus Elfring]

> Here is the 4th version of the documentation update.

How do you think about to take previous review comments better into account?

Regards,
Markus