[maemo-developers] Community Kernels garage project created

[From: Frantisek Dufka]

Graham Cobb wrote:

> Do you see this also addressing the related issue of building and distributing 
> kernel modules?

Yes. Changing kernel configuration (enabling additonal modules or 
additional features) is part of this too. Nokia is (understandably) 
quite conservative in enabling stuff not strictly required for stock 
firmware so this is the role of community too. There is real need for 
stuff like additional filesystems (both local and remote) drivers for 
various usb stuff usable in host mode ... etc

I guess this naturally extends also to out of tree (open source) modules.

> Firstly, as it stands today, I can't find a way to install the module such 
> that it can be found and loaded automatically when the hardware is seen on 
> boot: /lib/modules is only in the initfs.

Well, there is no modprobe preinstalled, just insmod. This is problem is 
not related to initfs or custom kernels.

Yes some modules needed for boot live in initfs but I guess once we 
package modules into debs they should live in rootfs, even the current 
ones should perhaps be duplicated there. Then maybe some package that 
modifies initfs (hopefully bootmenu some day) should depend on such 
module and copy it from rootfs to initfs.

> 
> The other problem is how to deal with kernel versions.  I believe the plan for 
> Maemo going forward is that even kernel upgrades may occur.  What package do 
> I specify as a dependency so that my package only installs on the correct 
> kernel version?  How do I get the autobuilder to build the various versions 
> of my module needed for the different kernel versions?  What magic do I need 
> to put in my debian/control to get the installer to install the correct 
> version of my module for the kernel version?

I guess Nokia people (Marius?) could comment on how exactly they plan to 
solve it with system updates once first kernel update comes and some 
package depends on it (like whole updated initfs or anything in rootfs)? 
In general debian package versions and dependencies should solve it.

As for packaging and using autobuilder I am newbie here. I guess we can 
have set of kernel patches (or does building debian package require only 
one source tar.gz and only one diff?) in .dsc file and reuse original 
kernel source in maemo SDK repository, patch it just like debian does it 
for any upstream source and build set of binary packages from it  - 
flashable kernel image package plus module(s) package(s). I remember 
similar system was used in Familiar distribution, you had package 
kernel-2.4.18-hhXX.ipk and then set of modules-whatever-2.4.18-hhXX.ipkg 
packages. Of course modules had dependency on the kernel so you needed 
to install it first.

Frantisek