Bug 190193 – revdep-rebuild should include packages with kernel modules

• Product: Gentoo Linux
• Status: RESOLVED WORKSFORME

[Description Jens 2007-08-25 16:08:37 UTC]

Everytime you update the kernel, you have to rebuild all packages which create kernel modules (like ati-drivers, some driver packages for ISDN or sound, truecrypt, madwifi-ng and so on).

You *have* to remember which packages there are on your computer(s). Or, more conveniently, revdep-rebuild could do it for you. The current option "revdep-rebuild --library gentoo-sources" doesn't find the dependencies

Commands like "equery belongs fglrx.ko" already report the correct package (ati-drivers). So it should (in my eyes) be sufficient to run that command on all kernel modules in the lib directory of the current running kernel. One could maybe blacklist a large number of well-known modules, so they should never be tested for upgrade/rebuild.
The trigger to rebuild could maybe be the non-existence of the module in the new kernel library directory (/usr/src/linux symlink). That revdep-rebuild run would of course only work if the new kernel has been configured (.config file exists).

The "normal" use of that enhancement would then be:
1. Update the portage tree (emerge --sync, emerge-webrsync, emerge-delta-webrsync).
2. emerge -uDN world
3. revdep-rebuild --kernel-modules
--> if there is a kernel update (like, for example, the running 2.6.22-gentoo-r2 has been updated to 2.6.22-gentoo-r5), revdep-rebuild finds module fglrx.ko in /lib/modules/2.6.22-gentoo-r2/video, but not in /lib/modules/2.6.22-gentoo-r5/video, because that kernel has not been built/prepared yet. The revdep-rebuild has to fail due to missing .config file.
----> config and make kernel 2.6.22-gentoo-r5
------> revdep-rebuild --kernel-modules works and re-emerges ati-drivers

I think that would be a very handy enhancement to revdep-rebuild, maybe (for convenience of the old-style gurus here) with an additional --option (like --kernel-modules) to keep old behaviour the default.

Any comments?

[Comment 1 Jakub Moc (RETIRED) 2007-08-25 16:11:31 UTC]

Nope, that's what sys-kernel/module-rebuild is for. :)

[Comment 2 Jens 2007-08-25 16:16:52 UTC]

Another tool which needs much more attention...
I've never stumbled upon this tool, and I couldn't find it by searching in the forums. Maybe wrong keywords, but...

The tool is there. My request may be considered void. Thanks for quick and friendly (!) answer.