Re: [gentoo-user] Kernel options and udisk

[Michael Mol]

On Mon, Sep 17, 2012 at 3:08 PM, Dale <rdalek1967@×××××.com> wrote:
> Michael Mol wrote:
>> On Mon, Sep 17, 2012 at 2:26 PM, Dale <rdalek1967@×××××.com> wrote:
>>> Michael Mol wrote:
>>>> On Mon, Sep 17, 2012 at 2:00 PM, Volker Armin Hemmann
>>>> <volkerarmin@××××××××××.com> wrote:
>>>>> Am Montag, 17. September 2012, 12:34:12 schrieb covici@××××××××××.com:
>>>>>> OK, sorry if this is a dumb question, but I did search for it using make
>>>>>> menuconfig, but could not actually find it!  I have all my usb host
>>>>>> controller drivers as modules, if that makes any difference.  I am using
>>>>>> 3.4.0-gentoo.
>>>>> hit / in menuconfig. It is there.
>>>> Although I do believe you need to remove the CONFIG_ prefix before you search.
>>>>
>>> Also, there are also other options that must be turned on for it to show
>>> up.  I had to enable other things before I could find it in the menu.
>>> This is another reason I asked the question on whether it is really
>>> needed or not.  It wasn't just one thing I had to enable but a couple
>>> other things too.  I'm still not sure I need either of those but . . .
>> You do, for the same reason you need electricity; you may not use
>> electricity directly, but something you use does.
>>
>> Similarly, you may not need this config option, but something you use
>> does (or something you use uses something you use which does).
>>
>> Further, the config option won't be available unless all of the things
>> _it_ uses are enabled. So, if this config option X isn't available
>> because it needs config option Y, you need config option Y, because
>> you need config option X, because you need udisks, because you need
>> something which needs udisks.
>>
>> So if some option X says "don't enable this unless you need it", and
>> you need some option Z, which says it needs option X, then, yes, you
>> need option X, because you need option Z.
>>
>> This is what Volker meant when he said that there was no 'unsure' at
>> play. Since you're sure you want udisk (because you installed it),
>> then, logically following, you're sure you want whatever udisk depends
>> on. (Either that, or you're not being logical. ^^ )
>>
>
>
> But, I was still unsure.  If it wants me to enable the option for
> battery monitoring, do I do that too?  I don't have any batteries but it
> wants the option enabled so to use your logic, I must need it because it
> asks for it even tho I don't use it and can't use it.

When it comes to software, even if you don't actively use a thing, you
may depend on it being there. The reasons involved could come from any
of dozens of programming issues you may be unaware of or uncaring of;
it could come from the need of a programmer to simplify his reasoning
about a system in order to simplify his code (or the problem his code
is trying to solve). It could come from some automatic linking process
that looks for a symbol even if the function that symbol represents is
never called in practice. It could come from some indirect artifact of
the thing being there.

You're trying to apply a holistic reasoning basis to a deterministic
dependency problem. That kind of logic is the same kind of logic that
leads to stories such as "but why won't you plug in your computer?"
"because it makes a lot of noise. Why won't my computer work?"
"Because it needs power, so you need to plug it in." "But it makes a
lot of noise."

Apologies for the crass analogy, but it really is the same thing, just
at a different technical depth.

-- 
:wq