0001 ================
0002 Kconfig Language
0003 ================
0004
0005 Introduction
0006 ------------
0007
0008 The configuration database is a collection of configuration options
0009 organized in a tree structure::
0010
0011 +- Code maturity level options
0012 | +- Prompt for development and/or incomplete code/drivers
0013 +- General setup
0014 | +- Networking support
0015 | +- System V IPC
0016 | +- BSD Process Accounting
0017 | +- Sysctl support
0018 +- Loadable module support
0019 | +- Enable loadable module support
0020 | +- Set version information on all module symbols
0021 | +- Kernel module loader
0022 +- ...
0023
0024 Every entry has its own dependencies. These dependencies are used
0025 to determine the visibility of an entry. Any child entry is only
0026 visible if its parent entry is also visible.
0027
0028 Menu entries
0029 ------------
0030
0031 Most entries define a config option; all other entries help to organize
0032 them. A single configuration option is defined like this::
0033
0034 config MODVERSIONS
0035 bool "Set version information on all module symbols"
0036 depends on MODULES
0037 help
0038 Usually, modules have to be recompiled whenever you switch to a new
0039 kernel. ...
0040
0041 Every line starts with a key word and can be followed by multiple
0042 arguments. "config" starts a new config entry. The following lines
0043 define attributes for this config option. Attributes can be the type of
0044 the config option, input prompt, dependencies, help text and default
0045 values. A config option can be defined multiple times with the same
0046 name, but every definition can have only a single input prompt and the
0047 type must not conflict.
0048
0049 Menu attributes
0050 ---------------
0051
0052 A menu entry can have a number of attributes. Not all of them are
0053 applicable everywhere (see syntax).
0054
0055 - type definition: "bool"/"tristate"/"string"/"hex"/"int"
0056
0057 Every config option must have a type. There are only two basic types:
0058 tristate and string; the other types are based on these two. The type
0059 definition optionally accepts an input prompt, so these two examples
0060 are equivalent::
0061
0062 bool "Networking support"
0063
0064 and::
0065
0066 bool
0067 prompt "Networking support"
0068
0069 - input prompt: "prompt" <prompt> ["if" <expr>]
0070
0071 Every menu entry can have at most one prompt, which is used to display
0072 to the user. Optionally dependencies only for this prompt can be added
0073 with "if".
0074
0075 - default value: "default" <expr> ["if" <expr>]
0076
0077 A config option can have any number of default values. If multiple
0078 default values are visible, only the first defined one is active.
0079 Default values are not limited to the menu entry where they are
0080 defined. This means the default can be defined somewhere else or be
0081 overridden by an earlier definition.
0082 The default value is only assigned to the config symbol if no other
0083 value was set by the user (via the input prompt above). If an input
0084 prompt is visible the default value is presented to the user and can
0085 be overridden by him.
0086 Optionally, dependencies only for this default value can be added with
0087 "if".
0088
0089 The default value deliberately defaults to 'n' in order to avoid bloating the
0090 build. With few exceptions, new config options should not change this. The
0091 intent is for "make oldconfig" to add as little as possible to the config from
0092 release to release.
0093
0094 Note:
0095 Things that merit "default y/m" include:
0096
0097 a) A new Kconfig option for something that used to always be built
0098 should be "default y".
0099
0100 b) A new gatekeeping Kconfig option that hides/shows other Kconfig
0101 options (but does not generate any code of its own), should be
0102 "default y" so people will see those other options.
0103
0104 c) Sub-driver behavior or similar options for a driver that is
0105 "default n". This allows you to provide sane defaults.
0106
0107 d) Hardware or infrastructure that everybody expects, such as CONFIG_NET
0108 or CONFIG_BLOCK. These are rare exceptions.
0109
0110 - type definition + default value::
0111
0112 "def_bool"/"def_tristate" <expr> ["if" <expr>]
0113
0114 This is a shorthand notation for a type definition plus a value.
0115 Optionally dependencies for this default value can be added with "if".
0116
0117 - dependencies: "depends on" <expr>
0118
0119 This defines a dependency for this menu entry. If multiple
0120 dependencies are defined, they are connected with '&&'. Dependencies
0121 are applied to all other options within this menu entry (which also
0122 accept an "if" expression), so these two examples are equivalent::
0123
0124 bool "foo" if BAR
0125 default y if BAR
0126
0127 and::
0128
0129 depends on BAR
0130 bool "foo"
0131 default y
0132
0133 - reverse dependencies: "select" <symbol> ["if" <expr>]
0134
0135 While normal dependencies reduce the upper limit of a symbol (see
0136 below), reverse dependencies can be used to force a lower limit of
0137 another symbol. The value of the current menu symbol is used as the
0138 minimal value <symbol> can be set to. If <symbol> is selected multiple
0139 times, the limit is set to the largest selection.
0140 Reverse dependencies can only be used with boolean or tristate
0141 symbols.
0142
0143 Note:
0144 select should be used with care. select will force
0145 a symbol to a value without visiting the dependencies.
0146 By abusing select you are able to select a symbol FOO even
0147 if FOO depends on BAR that is not set.
0148 In general use select only for non-visible symbols
0149 (no prompts anywhere) and for symbols with no dependencies.
0150 That will limit the usefulness but on the other hand avoid
0151 the illegal configurations all over.
0152
0153 - weak reverse dependencies: "imply" <symbol> ["if" <expr>]
0154
0155 This is similar to "select" as it enforces a lower limit on another
0156 symbol except that the "implied" symbol's value may still be set to n
0157 from a direct dependency or with a visible prompt.
0158
0159 Given the following example::
0160
0161 config FOO
0162 tristate "foo"
0163 imply BAZ
0164
0165 config BAZ
0166 tristate "baz"
0167 depends on BAR
0168
0169 The following values are possible:
0170
0171 === === ============= ==============
0172 FOO BAR BAZ's default choice for BAZ
0173 === === ============= ==============
0174 n y n N/m/y
0175 m y m M/y/n
0176 y y y Y/m/n
0177 n m n N/m
0178 m m m M/n
0179 y m m M/n
0180 y n * N
0181 === === ============= ==============
0182
0183 This is useful e.g. with multiple drivers that want to indicate their
0184 ability to hook into a secondary subsystem while allowing the user to
0185 configure that subsystem out without also having to unset these drivers.
0186
0187 Note: If the combination of FOO=y and BAR=m causes a link error,
0188 you can guard the function call with IS_REACHABLE()::
0189
0190 foo_init()
0191 {
0192 if (IS_REACHABLE(CONFIG_BAZ))
0193 baz_register(&foo);
0194 ...
0195 }
0196
0197 Note: If the feature provided by BAZ is highly desirable for FOO,
0198 FOO should imply not only BAZ, but also its dependency BAR::
0199
0200 config FOO
0201 tristate "foo"
0202 imply BAR
0203 imply BAZ
0204
0205 - limiting menu display: "visible if" <expr>
0206
0207 This attribute is only applicable to menu blocks, if the condition is
0208 false, the menu block is not displayed to the user (the symbols
0209 contained there can still be selected by other symbols, though). It is
0210 similar to a conditional "prompt" attribute for individual menu
0211 entries. Default value of "visible" is true.
0212
0213 - numerical ranges: "range" <symbol> <symbol> ["if" <expr>]
0214
0215 This allows to limit the range of possible input values for int
0216 and hex symbols. The user can only input a value which is larger than
0217 or equal to the first symbol and smaller than or equal to the second
0218 symbol.
0219
0220 - help text: "help"
0221
0222 This defines a help text. The end of the help text is determined by
0223 the indentation level, this means it ends at the first line which has
0224 a smaller indentation than the first line of the help text.
0225
0226 - module attribute: "modules"
0227 This declares the symbol to be used as the MODULES symbol, which
0228 enables the third modular state for all config symbols.
0229 At most one symbol may have the "modules" option set.
0230
0231 Menu dependencies
0232 -----------------
0233
0234 Dependencies define the visibility of a menu entry and can also reduce
0235 the input range of tristate symbols. The tristate logic used in the
0236 expressions uses one more state than normal boolean logic to express the
0237 module state. Dependency expressions have the following syntax::
0238
0239 <expr> ::= <symbol> (1)
0240 <symbol> '=' <symbol> (2)
0241 <symbol> '!=' <symbol> (3)
0242 <symbol1> '<' <symbol2> (4)
0243 <symbol1> '>' <symbol2> (4)
0244 <symbol1> '<=' <symbol2> (4)
0245 <symbol1> '>=' <symbol2> (4)
0246 '(' <expr> ')' (5)
0247 '!' <expr> (6)
0248 <expr> '&&' <expr> (7)
0249 <expr> '||' <expr> (8)
0250
0251 Expressions are listed in decreasing order of precedence.
0252
0253 (1) Convert the symbol into an expression. Boolean and tristate symbols
0254 are simply converted into the respective expression values. All
0255 other symbol types result in 'n'.
0256 (2) If the values of both symbols are equal, it returns 'y',
0257 otherwise 'n'.
0258 (3) If the values of both symbols are equal, it returns 'n',
0259 otherwise 'y'.
0260 (4) If value of <symbol1> is respectively lower, greater, lower-or-equal,
0261 or greater-or-equal than value of <symbol2>, it returns 'y',
0262 otherwise 'n'.
0263 (5) Returns the value of the expression. Used to override precedence.
0264 (6) Returns the result of (2-/expr/).
0265 (7) Returns the result of min(/expr/, /expr/).
0266 (8) Returns the result of max(/expr/, /expr/).
0267
0268 An expression can have a value of 'n', 'm' or 'y' (or 0, 1, 2
0269 respectively for calculations). A menu entry becomes visible when its
0270 expression evaluates to 'm' or 'y'.
0271
0272 There are two types of symbols: constant and non-constant symbols.
0273 Non-constant symbols are the most common ones and are defined with the
0274 'config' statement. Non-constant symbols consist entirely of alphanumeric
0275 characters or underscores.
0276 Constant symbols are only part of expressions. Constant symbols are
0277 always surrounded by single or double quotes. Within the quote, any
0278 other character is allowed and the quotes can be escaped using '\'.
0279
0280 Menu structure
0281 --------------
0282
0283 The position of a menu entry in the tree is determined in two ways. First
0284 it can be specified explicitly::
0285
0286 menu "Network device support"
0287 depends on NET
0288
0289 config NETDEVICES
0290 ...
0291
0292 endmenu
0293
0294 All entries within the "menu" ... "endmenu" block become a submenu of
0295 "Network device support". All subentries inherit the dependencies from
0296 the menu entry, e.g. this means the dependency "NET" is added to the
0297 dependency list of the config option NETDEVICES.
0298
0299 The other way to generate the menu structure is done by analyzing the
0300 dependencies. If a menu entry somehow depends on the previous entry, it
0301 can be made a submenu of it. First, the previous (parent) symbol must
0302 be part of the dependency list and then one of these two conditions
0303 must be true:
0304
0305 - the child entry must become invisible, if the parent is set to 'n'
0306 - the child entry must only be visible, if the parent is visible::
0307
0308 config MODULES
0309 bool "Enable loadable module support"
0310
0311 config MODVERSIONS
0312 bool "Set version information on all module symbols"
0313 depends on MODULES
0314
0315 comment "module support disabled"
0316 depends on !MODULES
0317
0318 MODVERSIONS directly depends on MODULES, this means it's only visible if
0319 MODULES is different from 'n'. The comment on the other hand is only
0320 visible when MODULES is set to 'n'.
0321
0322
0323 Kconfig syntax
0324 --------------
0325
0326 The configuration file describes a series of menu entries, where every
0327 line starts with a keyword (except help texts). The following keywords
0328 end a menu entry:
0329
0330 - config
0331 - menuconfig
0332 - choice/endchoice
0333 - comment
0334 - menu/endmenu
0335 - if/endif
0336 - source
0337
0338 The first five also start the definition of a menu entry.
0339
0340 config::
0341
0342 "config" <symbol>
0343 <config options>
0344
0345 This defines a config symbol <symbol> and accepts any of above
0346 attributes as options.
0347
0348 menuconfig::
0349
0350 "menuconfig" <symbol>
0351 <config options>
0352
0353 This is similar to the simple config entry above, but it also gives a
0354 hint to front ends, that all suboptions should be displayed as a
0355 separate list of options. To make sure all the suboptions will really
0356 show up under the menuconfig entry and not outside of it, every item
0357 from the <config options> list must depend on the menuconfig symbol.
0358 In practice, this is achieved by using one of the next two constructs::
0359
0360 (1):
0361 menuconfig M
0362 if M
0363 config C1
0364 config C2
0365 endif
0366
0367 (2):
0368 menuconfig M
0369 config C1
0370 depends on M
0371 config C2
0372 depends on M
0373
0374 In the following examples (3) and (4), C1 and C2 still have the M
0375 dependency, but will not appear under menuconfig M anymore, because
0376 of C0, which doesn't depend on M::
0377
0378 (3):
0379 menuconfig M
0380 config C0
0381 if M
0382 config C1
0383 config C2
0384 endif
0385
0386 (4):
0387 menuconfig M
0388 config C0
0389 config C1
0390 depends on M
0391 config C2
0392 depends on M
0393
0394 choices::
0395
0396 "choice" [symbol]
0397 <choice options>
0398 <choice block>
0399 "endchoice"
0400
0401 This defines a choice group and accepts any of the above attributes as
0402 options. A choice can only be of type bool or tristate. If no type is
0403 specified for a choice, its type will be determined by the type of
0404 the first choice element in the group or remain unknown if none of the
0405 choice elements have a type specified, as well.
0406
0407 While a boolean choice only allows a single config entry to be
0408 selected, a tristate choice also allows any number of config entries
0409 to be set to 'm'. This can be used if multiple drivers for a single
0410 hardware exists and only a single driver can be compiled/loaded into
0411 the kernel, but all drivers can be compiled as modules.
0412
0413 A choice accepts another option "optional", which allows to set the
0414 choice to 'n' and no entry needs to be selected.
0415 If no [symbol] is associated with a choice, then you can not have multiple
0416 definitions of that choice. If a [symbol] is associated to the choice,
0417 then you may define the same choice (i.e. with the same entries) in another
0418 place.
0419
0420 comment::
0421
0422 "comment" <prompt>
0423 <comment options>
0424
0425 This defines a comment which is displayed to the user during the
0426 configuration process and is also echoed to the output files. The only
0427 possible options are dependencies.
0428
0429 menu::
0430
0431 "menu" <prompt>
0432 <menu options>
0433 <menu block>
0434 "endmenu"
0435
0436 This defines a menu block, see "Menu structure" above for more
0437 information. The only possible options are dependencies and "visible"
0438 attributes.
0439
0440 if::
0441
0442 "if" <expr>
0443 <if block>
0444 "endif"
0445
0446 This defines an if block. The dependency expression <expr> is appended
0447 to all enclosed menu entries.
0448
0449 source::
0450
0451 "source" <prompt>
0452
0453 This reads the specified configuration file. This file is always parsed.
0454
0455 mainmenu::
0456
0457 "mainmenu" <prompt>
0458
0459 This sets the config program's title bar if the config program chooses
0460 to use it. It should be placed at the top of the configuration, before any
0461 other statement.
0462
0463 '#' Kconfig source file comment:
0464
0465 An unquoted '#' character anywhere in a source file line indicates
0466 the beginning of a source file comment. The remainder of that line
0467 is a comment.
0468
0469
0470 Kconfig hints
0471 -------------
0472 This is a collection of Kconfig tips, most of which aren't obvious at
0473 first glance and most of which have become idioms in several Kconfig
0474 files.
0475
0476 Adding common features and make the usage configurable
0477 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
0478 It is a common idiom to implement a feature/functionality that are
0479 relevant for some architectures but not all.
0480 The recommended way to do so is to use a config variable named HAVE_*
0481 that is defined in a common Kconfig file and selected by the relevant
0482 architectures.
0483 An example is the generic IOMAP functionality.
0484
0485 We would in lib/Kconfig see::
0486
0487 # Generic IOMAP is used to ...
0488 config HAVE_GENERIC_IOMAP
0489
0490 config GENERIC_IOMAP
0491 depends on HAVE_GENERIC_IOMAP && FOO
0492
0493 And in lib/Makefile we would see::
0494
0495 obj-$(CONFIG_GENERIC_IOMAP) += iomap.o
0496
0497 For each architecture using the generic IOMAP functionality we would see::
0498
0499 config X86
0500 select ...
0501 select HAVE_GENERIC_IOMAP
0502 select ...
0503
0504 Note: we use the existing config option and avoid creating a new
0505 config variable to select HAVE_GENERIC_IOMAP.
0506
0507 Note: the use of the internal config variable HAVE_GENERIC_IOMAP, it is
0508 introduced to overcome the limitation of select which will force a
0509 config option to 'y' no matter the dependencies.
0510 The dependencies are moved to the symbol GENERIC_IOMAP and we avoid the
0511 situation where select forces a symbol equals to 'y'.
0512
0513 Adding features that need compiler support
0514 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
0515
0516 There are several features that need compiler support. The recommended way
0517 to describe the dependency on the compiler feature is to use "depends on"
0518 followed by a test macro::
0519
0520 config STACKPROTECTOR
0521 bool "Stack Protector buffer overflow detection"
0522 depends on $(cc-option,-fstack-protector)
0523 ...
0524
0525 If you need to expose a compiler capability to makefiles and/or C source files,
0526 `CC_HAS_` is the recommended prefix for the config option::
0527
0528 config CC_HAS_FOO
0529 def_bool $(success,$(srctree)/scripts/cc-check-foo.sh $(CC))
0530
0531 Build as module only
0532 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
0533 To restrict a component build to module-only, qualify its config symbol
0534 with "depends on m". E.g.::
0535
0536 config FOO
0537 depends on BAR && m
0538
0539 limits FOO to module (=m) or disabled (=n).
0540
0541 Compile-testing
0542 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
0543 If a config symbol has a dependency, but the code controlled by the config
0544 symbol can still be compiled if the dependency is not met, it is encouraged to
0545 increase build coverage by adding an "|| COMPILE_TEST" clause to the
0546 dependency. This is especially useful for drivers for more exotic hardware, as
0547 it allows continuous-integration systems to compile-test the code on a more
0548 common system, and detect bugs that way.
0549 Note that compile-tested code should avoid crashing when run on a system where
0550 the dependency is not met.
0551
0552 Architecture and platform dependencies
0553 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
0554 Due to the presence of stubs, most drivers can now be compiled on most
0555 architectures. However, this does not mean it makes sense to have all drivers
0556 available everywhere, as the actual hardware may only exist on specific
0557 architectures and platforms. This is especially true for on-SoC IP cores,
0558 which may be limited to a specific vendor or SoC family.
0559
0560 To prevent asking the user about drivers that cannot be used on the system(s)
0561 the user is compiling a kernel for, and if it makes sense, config symbols
0562 controlling the compilation of a driver should contain proper dependencies,
0563 limiting the visibility of the symbol to (a superset of) the platform(s) the
0564 driver can be used on. The dependency can be an architecture (e.g. ARM) or
0565 platform (e.g. ARCH_OMAP4) dependency. This makes life simpler not only for
0566 distro config owners, but also for every single developer or user who
0567 configures a kernel.
0568
0569 Such a dependency can be relaxed by combining it with the compile-testing rule
0570 above, leading to:
0571
0572 config FOO
0573 bool "Support for foo hardware"
0574 depends on ARCH_FOO_VENDOR || COMPILE_TEST
0575
0576 Kconfig recursive dependency limitations
0577 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
0578
0579 If you've hit the Kconfig error: "recursive dependency detected" you've run
0580 into a recursive dependency issue with Kconfig, a recursive dependency can be
0581 summarized as a circular dependency. The kconfig tools need to ensure that
0582 Kconfig files comply with specified configuration requirements. In order to do
0583 that kconfig must determine the values that are possible for all Kconfig
0584 symbols, this is currently not possible if there is a circular relation
0585 between two or more Kconfig symbols. For more details refer to the "Simple
0586 Kconfig recursive issue" subsection below. Kconfig does not do recursive
0587 dependency resolution; this has a few implications for Kconfig file writers.
0588 We'll first explain why this issues exists and then provide an example
0589 technical limitation which this brings upon Kconfig developers. Eager
0590 developers wishing to try to address this limitation should read the next
0591 subsections.
0592
0593 Simple Kconfig recursive issue
0594 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
0595
0596 Read: Documentation/kbuild/Kconfig.recursion-issue-01
0597
0598 Test with::
0599
0600 make KBUILD_KCONFIG=Documentation/kbuild/Kconfig.recursion-issue-01 allnoconfig
0601
0602 Cumulative Kconfig recursive issue
0603 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
0604
0605 Read: Documentation/kbuild/Kconfig.recursion-issue-02
0606
0607 Test with::
0608
0609 make KBUILD_KCONFIG=Documentation/kbuild/Kconfig.recursion-issue-02 allnoconfig
0610
0611 Practical solutions to kconfig recursive issue
0612 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
0613
0614 Developers who run into the recursive Kconfig issue have two options
0615 at their disposal. We document them below and also provide a list of
0616 historical issues resolved through these different solutions.
0617
0618 a) Remove any superfluous "select FOO" or "depends on FOO"
0619 b) Match dependency semantics:
0620
0621 b1) Swap all "select FOO" to "depends on FOO" or,
0622
0623 b2) Swap all "depends on FOO" to "select FOO"
0624
0625 The resolution to a) can be tested with the sample Kconfig file
0626 Documentation/kbuild/Kconfig.recursion-issue-01 through the removal
0627 of the "select CORE" from CORE_BELL_A_ADVANCED as that is implicit already
0628 since CORE_BELL_A depends on CORE. At times it may not be possible to remove
0629 some dependency criteria, for such cases you can work with solution b).
0630
0631 The two different resolutions for b) can be tested in the sample Kconfig file
0632 Documentation/kbuild/Kconfig.recursion-issue-02.
0633
0634 Below is a list of examples of prior fixes for these types of recursive issues;
0635 all errors appear to involve one or more "select" statements and one or more
0636 "depends on".
0637
0638 ============ ===================================
0639 commit fix
0640 ============ ===================================
0641 06b718c01208 select A -> depends on A
0642 c22eacfe82f9 depends on A -> depends on B
0643 6a91e854442c select A -> depends on A
0644 118c565a8f2e select A -> select B
0645 f004e5594705 select A -> depends on A
0646 c7861f37b4c6 depends on A -> (null)
0647 80c69915e5fb select A -> (null) (1)
0648 c2218e26c0d0 select A -> depends on A (1)
0649 d6ae99d04e1c select A -> depends on A
0650 95ca19cf8cbf select A -> depends on A
0651 8f057d7bca54 depends on A -> (null)
0652 8f057d7bca54 depends on A -> select A
0653 a0701f04846e select A -> depends on A
0654 0c8b92f7f259 depends on A -> (null)
0655 e4e9e0540928 select A -> depends on A (2)
0656 7453ea886e87 depends on A > (null) (1)
0657 7b1fff7e4fdf select A -> depends on A
0658 86c747d2a4f0 select A -> depends on A
0659 d9f9ab51e55e select A -> depends on A
0660 0c51a4d8abd6 depends on A -> select A (3)
0661 e98062ed6dc4 select A -> depends on A (3)
0662 91e5d284a7f1 select A -> (null)
0663 ============ ===================================
0664
0665 (1) Partial (or no) quote of error.
0666 (2) That seems to be the gist of that fix.
0667 (3) Same error.
0668
0669 Future kconfig work
0670 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
0671
0672 Work on kconfig is welcomed on both areas of clarifying semantics and on
0673 evaluating the use of a full SAT solver for it. A full SAT solver can be
0674 desirable to enable more complex dependency mappings and / or queries,
0675 for instance one possible use case for a SAT solver could be that of handling
0676 the current known recursive dependency issues. It is not known if this would
0677 address such issues but such evaluation is desirable. If support for a full SAT
0678 solver proves too complex or that it cannot address recursive dependency issues
0679 Kconfig should have at least clear and well defined semantics which also
0680 addresses and documents limitations or requirements such as the ones dealing
0681 with recursive dependencies.
0682
0683 Further work on both of these areas is welcomed on Kconfig. We elaborate
0684 on both of these in the next two subsections.
0685
0686 Semantics of Kconfig
0687 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
0688
0689 The use of Kconfig is broad, Linux is now only one of Kconfig's users:
0690 one study has completed a broad analysis of Kconfig use in 12 projects [0]_.
0691 Despite its widespread use, and although this document does a reasonable job
0692 in documenting basic Kconfig syntax a more precise definition of Kconfig
0693 semantics is welcomed. One project deduced Kconfig semantics through
0694 the use of the xconfig configurator [1]_. Work should be done to confirm if
0695 the deduced semantics matches our intended Kconfig design goals.
0696 Another project formalized a denotational semantics of a core subset of
0697 the Kconfig language [10]_.
0698
0699 Having well defined semantics can be useful for tools for practical
0700 evaluation of dependencies, for instance one such case was work to
0701 express in boolean abstraction of the inferred semantics of Kconfig to
0702 translate Kconfig logic into boolean formulas and run a SAT solver on this to
0703 find dead code / features (always inactive), 114 dead features were found in
0704 Linux using this methodology [1]_ (Section 8: Threats to validity).
0705 The kismet tool, based on the semantics in [10]_, finds abuses of reverse
0706 dependencies and has led to dozens of committed fixes to Linux Kconfig files [11]_.
0707
0708 Confirming this could prove useful as Kconfig stands as one of the leading
0709 industrial variability modeling languages [1]_ [2]_. Its study would help
0710 evaluate practical uses of such languages, their use was only theoretical
0711 and real world requirements were not well understood. As it stands though
0712 only reverse engineering techniques have been used to deduce semantics from
0713 variability modeling languages such as Kconfig [3]_.
0714
0715 .. [0] https://www.eng.uwaterloo.ca/~shshe/kconfig_semantics.pdf
0716 .. [1] https://gsd.uwaterloo.ca/sites/default/files/vm-2013-berger.pdf
0717 .. [2] https://gsd.uwaterloo.ca/sites/default/files/ase241-berger_0.pdf
0718 .. [3] https://gsd.uwaterloo.ca/sites/default/files/icse2011.pdf
0719
0720 Full SAT solver for Kconfig
0721 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
0722
0723 Although SAT solvers [4]_ haven't yet been used by Kconfig directly, as noted
0724 in the previous subsection, work has been done however to express in boolean
0725 abstraction the inferred semantics of Kconfig to translate Kconfig logic into
0726 boolean formulas and run a SAT solver on it [5]_. Another known related project
0727 is CADOS [6]_ (former VAMOS [7]_) and the tools, mainly undertaker [8]_, which
0728 has been introduced first with [9]_. The basic concept of undertaker is to
0729 extract variability models from Kconfig and put them together with a
0730 propositional formula extracted from CPP #ifdefs and build-rules into a SAT
0731 solver in order to find dead code, dead files, and dead symbols. If using a SAT
0732 solver is desirable on Kconfig one approach would be to evaluate repurposing
0733 such efforts somehow on Kconfig. There is enough interest from mentors of
0734 existing projects to not only help advise how to integrate this work upstream
0735 but also help maintain it long term. Interested developers should visit:
0736
0737 https://kernelnewbies.org/KernelProjects/kconfig-sat
0738
0739 .. [4] https://www.cs.cornell.edu/~sabhar/chapters/SATSolvers-KR-Handbook.pdf
0740 .. [5] https://gsd.uwaterloo.ca/sites/default/files/vm-2013-berger.pdf
0741 .. [6] https://cados.cs.fau.de
0742 .. [7] https://vamos.cs.fau.de
0743 .. [8] https://undertaker.cs.fau.de
0744 .. [9] https://www4.cs.fau.de/Publications/2011/tartler_11_eurosys.pdf
0745 .. [10] https://paulgazzillo.com/papers/esecfse21.pdf
0746 .. [11] https://github.com/paulgazz/kmax