Having sacrificed almost an entire week to the abyss known as the command line, I am about to exchange my "Linux Geek" T-shirt for something more vanilla-flavoured. Perhaps something like "Mandrake Rules" or, even better, "In YaST2 we trust".
The fact that the default answers appeared to be set for a Chinese-speaking laptop user with no intention of setting up a graphical interface did not help matters.
Alastair Otter, journalist, ITWeb
The process started when I decided, following months of hesitation, to tackle the issue of kernel configuration head-on. The plan of action was simple: download the latest kernel, skim the obligatory documentation (of which there is a ton), configure and load a new kernel and enjoy the benefits of being on the cutting-edge of the Linux world. The flaws in this plan are surprisingly clear in retrospect.
Where it went wrong I still can`t really say, but I am now well acquainted with the pitfalls of configuring a new kernel. The biggest of these is the daunting nature of the process. For a start the configuration tool includes enough important yet unintelligible questions to rival a tax return form. And as I ploughed through what seemed to be absolutely hundreds of "Do you want to include FOO_BAR_module?" type questions, I was filled with the same sense of dread I get when doing my annual tax return. Each question appeared to hold within it the power to destroy my entire system if I put a foot wrong.
Language barrier
The fact that the default answers appeared to be set for a Chinese-speaking laptop user with no intention of setting up a graphical interface did not help matters. And so I ploughed on bravely, hoping that I still had the boot disk I had made a few months ago.
My only source of consolation as I worked my way through all these questions was the knowledge that even the most experienced of kernel hackers are starting to feel the weight of kernel configuration. In particular I thought of that guru of the open source movement, Eric Raymond, who recently declared the kernel configuration process overly complex and susceptible to breakage.
Rebooting my machine I smugly smiled at myself as I saw the new kernel being loaded up. But my self-satisfaction was short-lived as I realised my soundcard no longer worked and the PPP daemon was nowhere to be found. Staring into my screen, pondering life without the Internet, I saw all too clearly why so many critics declare Linux not ready for the desktop. At least not until the process of upgrading gets a whole lot simpler.
Fortunately people like Raymond are doing exactly this. In the middle of last year Raymond announced that he was working on a new language for interfacing with the kernel. Strangely, when version 1.0 of this project, known as CML2, made its way onto the Internet it was met with surprisingly little fanfare.
Option overload
What CML2 proposes is a rule- and menu-based configuration system that caters for both novice and experienced users alike. While not a revolutionary process in itself, it does warrant a second look. For first-time kernel compilers the options are daunting. What Raymond aims to do with CML2 is to offer these first-timers the option to view only the essential questions. It also proposes such shortcuts as asking users questions like "Do you want to compile all the USB options as modules?"
More importantly though, the latest CML2 specification includes provisions for rule-based options. So, for example, users will be advised if one of the selections they make is dependent on another or if required drivers are missing. Currently those types of errors are only spotted during the compilation process or when building modules.
This alone wins my vote. After re-compiling the kernel dozens of times over the past week in an effort to single out the problems, I have grown tired of the bland and non-communicative interface of the existing configuration tool. And the graphical version of the process is equally uninformative.
If Linux is ever going to attract new and less-technical users, projects like CML2 and the equally important Linux Standard Base project need to be supported wholeheartedly.
In the meantime, I am still flirting with the existing tools in the hope that I can get myself back onto the Internet to download the latest kernel patch and start the process all over again.
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