make.conf syntax question (MODULES_OERRRIDE)

[Lowell Gilbert]

"Colin J. Raven" <colin at kenmore.kozy-kabin.nl> writes:

> What I was (erroneously) trying to do was trim down the kernel to its 
> absolute minimum size and maximum performance, my thought was if I don't 
> need it, don't load it.

Which makes sense.  "Don't load it" is not the same as "don't build
it," though.

>                         I guess the logical question follows 
> though....why build all those modules (500 and something if I recall 
> correctly) if they're unused and not necessary?

Because the cost of building them is low, and the benefit of having
the module when you mistakenly remove something from the kernel that
you wanted is high.

It's kind of like keeping good backups; most of the bits on my backups
wouldn't be needed even if I was restoring from scratch, but it's
still a good idea to start with a full backup of *everything*.

> It seems counter intuitive somehow, but probably I'm not seeing the 
> issue in its proper light.

It's correct for the kernel itself.  You don't need to build most
functionality into the kernel unless you're going to use it on every
boot.  [If you're only going to use it occasionally, and you can load
it from a module, you might as well do that.]  For a typical desktop
user, though, I recommend just building all of the modules all of the
time, and not risking being caught without one you need.