Re: [gentoo-dev] 2024-02-26-debianutils-drops-installkernel-dep: add news item

[Ulrich Mueller <ulm@gentoo.org>]

[-- Attachment #1: Type: text/plain, Size: 3424 bytes --]

>>>>> On Mon, 26 Feb 2024, Andrew Nowa Ammerlaan wrote:

> Title: installkernel is no longer implicitly installed
> Author: Andrew Ammerlaan <andrewammerlaan@gentoo.org>
> Posted: 2024-02-26
> Revision: 1
> News-Item-Format: 2.0
> Display-If-Installed: sys-kernel/installkernel
> Display-If-Installed: >=sys-apps/debianutils-5.14-r1
> Display-If-Installed: app-misc/ca-certificates

I have only some small remarks about spelling and style:

> /sbin/installkernel is a script called by the kernels 'make install' as well

s/kernels/kernel's/ (also occurs more times below)

> as by the distribution kernels post install phase. If you are reading this
> then chances are you use and rely on installkernel and what follows is
> essential for you.

> Previously sys-kernel/installkernel was implicitly installed on many systems
> via a dependency in sys-apps/debianutils. This dependency was toggled
> by the "installkernel" USE flag, and enabled by default.

Use either double quotes (which I'd prefer) or single quotes throughout.

> sys-apps/debianutils was in turn pulled in by app-misc/ca-certificates,
> an essential package installed on many systems. However, this
> dependency was recently removed. As a result many users may find that
> sys-apps/debianutils and therefore sys-kernel/installkernel are no longer
> part of the dependency graph and will therefore be cleaned up by
> 'emerge --depclean'.

> Removing sys-kernel/installkernel from your system WILL change the
> way kernels are installed by 'make install'! Instead of the versioned
> /boot/vmlinuz-x.y.z that you are used to, 'make install' will simply
> copy bzImage (or equivalent for you arch) into /boot. This image

s/you/your/

> may not be picked up by your bootloader or its configuration tools.

> To avoid surprises from such implicit dependencies from happening
> again in the future, the dependency on sys-kernel/installkernel in
> sys-apps/debianutils is removed. And as such sys-kernel/installkernel

Comma after "such"?

> is only installed on the system if it is either explicitly selected or
> pulled in via the distribution kernels (e.g. gentoo-kernel(-bin)).


> User Action Required (all users)
> ====================

> Users who currently have sys-kernel/installkernel installed, must
> ensure that it is explicitly selected by explicitly emerging it:

Avoid the double "explicitly".

> emerge --noreplace sys-kernel/installkernel

Put a # sign in front to make clear that it's a command? Alternatively,
indent the line (applies also for the three commands below).

> Users who find that sys-kernel/installkernel has already been
> cleaned from their systems and are therefore effected by
> the change in kernel installation described above should
> re-install sys-kernel/installkernel and then re-install their
> kernel.

Above you wrap lines at 75 chars, but here it's down to 60.

Please make it consistent. GLEP 42 suggests "The text body should be
wrapped at 72 characters."

> emerge sys-kernel/installkernel
> cd /usr/src/linux (or other location of the kernel sources)

bash: syntax error near unexpected token `('

But seriously, some users will copy and paste these commands, so making
it a bash comment starting with # may be better.

> make install

> Note that this re-installation is not required for users of the
> distribution kernels (e.g. gentoo-kernel(-bin)).


> See also: https://wiki.gentoo.org/wiki/Installkernel

[-- Attachment #2: signature.asc --]
[-- Type: application/pgp-signature, Size: 507 bytes --]