Functions of makeoldconfig and menuconfig during Buildkernel
1. Write in Linux Kernel design and implementation 3 (Linux Kernel Development 3:
After you modify the configuration file or use the existing configuration file to configure a new code tree, run the make oldconfig command to verify and update the configuration. Here, the role of make oldconfig is not clearly described;
2. In the README file in the linux-2.6.xx directory, describe the role of make oldconfig: all the questions are based on the existing. config file, only to ask new features and new settings;
3. In Building Embedded Linux Systems, the role of make oldconfig is explained in detail:
Make oldconfig:
You can configure the kernel through the command interface, but the existing. config configuration file will be automatically loaded. You must manually set the configuration only when you encounter any previously set options. However, make config requires you to manually set all the options, even if you have set them before. Developers usually update their configurations to official configuration options through this method to avoid resetting the entire Kernel configuration.
Make menuconfig:
Displays the configuration menu in the form of a terminal based on curses. If the. config file exists, it will set the default value based on the file, just like make config.
In my opinion, make menuconfig is the graphic version of make oldconfig. When updating the new settings to. config, save the original. config file as. config. old.