[yocto] Requesting information on some variables

[Rifenbark, Scott M]

There is a bug (https://bugzilla.yoctoproject.org/show_bug.cgi?id=3292) stating that we need better documentation describing how DISTRO_FEATURES, COMMON_FEATURES, and MACHINE_FEATURES actually affect the build.  I don't know anything about these variables beyond what is in the reference manual:

http://www.yoctoproject.org/docs/1.3/poky-ref-manual/poky-ref-manual.html#var-DISTRO_FEATURES
http://www.yoctoproject.org/docs/1.3/poky-ref-manual/poky-ref-manual.html#var-MACHINE_FEATURES
(no current entry for  COMMON_FEATURES)

Can anyone provide additional information for these three variables and how they interact with the build system and with one another?

Thanks,
Scott


Bug 3292

The documentation for the following variables:

DISTRO_FEATURES
COMMON_FEATURES
MACHINE_FEATURES

is inadequate to instruct would-be users of how changes will impact the system.

These variables combine to determine various aspects of how images and packages are built. They impact RDEPENDS of various packagegroups, impact the way live images are built, and certainly others. MACHINE_FEATURES as a documented list of values, DISTRO_FEATURES does not. I do not see COMMON_FEATURES listed at all.

A discussion of how these interrelate and how someone can discover the exact impact from the sources would be useful. For example, using "git grep 'contains.*MACHINE_FEATURES.*<FEATURE>'" to discover how the build is impacted would be a useful addition.

It isn't practical to define the dependency chains in the documentation, but providing the user with the background and tools to discover them seems appropriate.


Scott Rifenbark
Intel Corporation
Yocto Project Documentation
503.712.2702
503.341.0418 (cell)

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