Yinghai Lu wrote:
> -config MEMTEST_BOOTPARAM
> - bool "Memtest boot parameter"
> +config MEMTEST
> + bool "Memtest"
> depends on X86_64
> default y

With this patch, this default no longer makes any sense.

> help
> This option adds a kernel parameter 'memtest', which allows memtest
> - to be disabled at boot. If this option is selected, memtest
> - functionality can be disabled with memtest=0 on the kernel
> - command line. The purpose of this option is to allow a single
> - kernel image to be distributed with memtest built in, but not
> - necessarily enabled.
> -
> + to be set.
> + memtest=0, mean disabled; -- default
> + memtest=1, mean do 1 test pattern;
> + ...
> + memtest=4, mean do 4 test patterns.

s/mean/means/
s/; -- default/ (default)/ although that does not really make sense either

Maybe some explanation of what a "test pattern" is would be useful.

> If you are unsure how to answer this question, answer Y.

Also makes no sense anymore.

Cheers,
FJP
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On Saturday 19 April 2008, Frans Pop wrote:
> Yinghai Lu wrote:
> > -config MEMTEST_BOOTPARAM
> > - bool "Memtest boot parameter"
> > +config MEMTEST
> > + bool "Memtest"
> > depends on X86_64
> > default y
>
> With this patch, this default no longer makes any sense.
>
> > help
> > This option adds a kernel parameter 'memtest', which allows memtest
> > - to be disabled at boot. If this option is selected, memtest
> > - functionality can be disabled with memtest=0 on the kernel
> > - command line. The purpose of this option is to allow a single
> > - kernel image to be distributed with memtest built in, but not
> > - necessarily enabled.
> > -
> > + to be set.
> > + memtest=0, mean disabled; -- default
> > + memtest=1, mean do 1 test pattern;
> > + ...
> > + memtest=4, mean do 4 test patterns.
>
> s/mean/means/
> s/; -- default/ (default)/

These are still good (IMO).

> Maybe some explanation of what a "test pattern" is would be useful.
>
> > If you are unsure how to answer this question, answer Y.
>
> Also makes no sense anymore.

Oops. Just see I was too fast. After reading it again I see that the y/n
value is correct after all.

However, it also means that the new description is probably too short.
The phrase "allows memtest to be set" does not really mean anything to a
user who does not know what memtest really does. It also does not explain
that memtest is a boot parameter.

Also, it should probably be made more explicit that no memtest is actually
performed unless the memtest boot parameter is passed at the boot prompt.

Looks like 4 is the maximum possible value. This should be mentioned
explicitly (here as well as in Documentation/kernel-parameters.txt).

Maybe something like this:
This option allows a memory test to be executed when the system is
booted. A memory test is only actually executed if the kernel boot
parameter 'memtest' is passed.

The value of that parameter is the number to times the test is
performed:
memtest=0: don't perform the test (default)
memtest=1: perform the test once
...
memtest=4: perform the test 4 times (maximum).

If you are unsure how to answer this question, answer Y.

Hmmm. The original description mentions "N patterns". If those patterns are
actually different, then a different description is probably needed.

Sorry for the confusion.

Cheers,
FJP
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> On Fri, Apr 18, 2008 at 7:15 PM, Frans Pop wrote:
>> the new description is probably too short.
>> The phrase "allows memtest to be set" does not really mean anything to a
>> user who does not know what memtest really does. It also does not explain
>> that memtest is a boot parameter.
>>
>> Also, it should probably be made more explicit that no memtest is actually
>> performed unless the memtest boot parameter is passed at the boot prompt.
>>
>> Looks like 4 is the maximum possible value. This should be mentioned
>> explicitly (here as well as in Documentation/kernel-parameters.txt).

To add to this: The help text should IMO contain
- that a test for faulty RAM is being added if Y,
- that this feature can be controlled by the boot parameter
(and, per the parameter's default, is normally off),
- how many loops with which data patterns are performed depending
on the boot parameter value,
- how long this might take (so that nobody who hears of this for
the first time enables it e.g. on a server which is supposed to
not take too long to reboot),
- how reliable the results of this test are (I presume that some
faults can only be found by many repeated re-runs of the memory
tester),
- that saying Y slightly (?) increases the size of the kernel image
but does not influence the kernel size after boot-up is completed.

Thanks,
--
Stefan Richter
-=====-==--- -=-- =--==
http://arcgraph.de/sr/
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