From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Return-Path: Received: (majordomo@vger.kernel.org) by vger.kernel.org via listexpand id S1756595AbYAFMA0 (ORCPT ); Sun, 6 Jan 2008 07:00:26 -0500 Received: (majordomo@vger.kernel.org) by vger.kernel.org id S1753489AbYAFMAP (ORCPT ); Sun, 6 Jan 2008 07:00:15 -0500 Received: from smtp6.pp.htv.fi ([213.243.153.40]:47054 "EHLO smtp6.pp.htv.fi" rhost-flags-OK-OK-OK-OK) by vger.kernel.org with ESMTP id S1753290AbYAFMAN (ORCPT ); Sun, 6 Jan 2008 07:00:13 -0500 Date: Sun, 6 Jan 2008 13:59:41 +0200 From: Adrian Bunk To: Stefan Richter Cc: Randy Dunlap , Sam Ravnborg , Al Boldi , linux-usb@vger.kernel.org, linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org, David Brownell , Greg KH , Andrew Morton Subject: Re: [PATCH 2/5] USB Kconfig: Select SCSI for USB Mass Storage support Message-ID: <20080106115941.GB2082@does.not.exist> References: <200801051546.SAA08947@raad.intranet> <20080105113024.209485f5.randy.dunlap@oracle.com> <20080105210330.GC22232@does.not.exist> <20080105210940.GA10302@uranus.ravnborg.org> <47801126.7020807@oracle.com> <20080105234540.GG22232@does.not.exist> <47802249.9010107@s5r6.in-berlin.de> <20080106005807.GH22232@does.not.exist> <4780BBAA.7020908@s5r6.in-berlin.de> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8 Content-Disposition: inline In-Reply-To: <4780BBAA.7020908@s5r6.in-berlin.de> User-Agent: Mutt/1.5.17 (2007-11-01) Sender: linux-kernel-owner@vger.kernel.org List-ID: X-Mailing-List: linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org On Sun, Jan 06, 2008 at 12:29:46PM +0100, Stefan Richter wrote: > Adrian Bunk wrote: > > On Sun, Jan 06, 2008 at 01:35:21AM +0100, Stefan Richter wrote: > >> instead work on better UIs if you have got > >> trouble with the complexities of the dependencies graph. The graphic > >> UIs including menuconfig currently work best for tree-like dependencies, > >> but the graph isn't a tree. Think about how to present this properly in > >> an UI. The Kconfig files are the wrong place to attack this problem. > >> ... > > > > Duplicating the structure in each UI should be an improvement? > > > > Hardly. > > What do you mean? > > We have dependency data in the Kconfig files. We have a few different > UIs to them. Why there are different UIs is easy (oldconfig vs. > xconfig) or not so easy (gconfig vs. xconfig) to explain. Anyway; IMO > we should keep data and presentation separate for at least two reasons: > - to allow us to have specialized task-oriented UIs (oldconfig, > randconfig et cetera) > - because different people have different approaches to kernel > configuration (the guy who sets up a new box vs. the guy who bought > a new gadget vs. the guy who updates his kernel vs. the control > freak vs. the kernel tester vs...) >... You said: "The graphic UIs including menuconfig currently work best for tree-like dependencies" That's true. And the dependency graph can't be a tree. Currently, defining the ordered tree the UIs present to the user is done _once_ in kconfig. Our UIs either show this tree as a tree or go through the tree depth-first and present the options in this order to the user. And I think your main misunderstanding is that you think the dependencies alone would carry enough information for allowing an UI to present the options in a way not worse than it's currently done - that's simply not true. > Stefan Richter cu Adrian -- "Is there not promise of rain?" Ling Tan asked suddenly out of the darkness. There had been need of rain for many days. "Only a promise," Lao Er said. Pearl S. Buck - Dragon Seed