More generic kernel configs

Feature Requests
#1

Please use more generic kernel configs (and keep them similar similar across the lineup).

Recently i wanted to try Piggz’s new fancy camera app Shutter (formerly Pinhole) which relies on libcamera. I/we found that the kernel on my Xperia 10 III does not come with CONFIG_USB_VIDEO_CLASS (UVC video in), so the external camera i wanted to try did not work. Then i found that this is actually being enabled soon - but by happy accident, not on purpose. And not across devices.

Thus my feature request:
Please add some generic “computer” options and make sure all devices have them.

For example, off the top of my head:

  • USB video
  • Common USB Ethernet and WiFi adapters
  • CD-ROM support

NB: this is a separate request from things that would take work in other parts too, like video-out. It’s just about basics.

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#2

Good request, if I may piggyback on that:

Filesystems!

Please have consistent support for fs types.

IMO, apart from the obvious ext2/3/4, vfat, exfat, and maybe ntfs, there should be support for:

  • UDF (not well known but best option for cross-OS removable media (i.e. SD cards) that is not *fat or ntfs)
  • iso9660 (because mounting .iso images is a use case)

Network fs:

  • NFS (v4, maybe v3), because e.g. consumer “NAS” boxes
  • SMB/CIFS, same

Right now I can do NFS on Gemini, but not Xperia10iii. Same for UDF.

9 Likes
#3

Ummm. midi. alsa midi please. Pulse and Pipewire all depend on alsa midi. It would really allow a lot of neat and useful audio stuff to be done on SFOS which is now just not possible. EDIT: snd_seq, snd_seq_midi, snd_rawmidi

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#4

I can’t imagine doing it on the phone but I do have several proprietary dictionaries that I mount from images. And L’Encyclopédie de Diderot et d’ Alembert would be nice to have on the phone!

#5

Yes! That’s the point - to get a list of a dozen or two common uncontroversial options.
Anything that does not try to shoehorn in features that need more implementation is most welcome.

#6

Isn’t it desirable to keep the kernel lightweight - not so much in filesize but in other resource usage?

Isn’t it possible to build & load practically any external module during or after boot, if required?

I guess they’d have to “fit” the current kernel version though.

#7

For sure… but how much does a kernel module really use until it has something to do?
I don’t think that is very much compared to what’s available nowadays.

It would definitely be nice to be able to build and load your own modules easier… but realistically this is only for enthusiasts like me. From what i can tell there is no header package available to facilitate this like the couple of times i have done it for other computers. But i’m by no means an expert, so maybe it is already easy, just nobody is speaking about it.

My reasoning here is that 10-20-30 something options should make it much more usable for regular users, without basically any obvious/significant downside.

And then there is the part of aligning better too… so things that work on one phone can be trusted to work on another as much as possible.

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#8

the entire alsa midi/raw/seq stack uses no memory to speak of until you fire up an application to actually use them. to make the system efficient, you’d first have to get rid of systemd :slight_smile:

#9

Enthusiasts sometimes make things which “common” people would love to have as well. I have a cheapish sound level meter (sound dB meter), which has a USB interface which can be used to control the thing and download stored data etc. I made a Python lib for it, which works fine on desktop. The device uses a common UART-to-USB chip, which has a mainline kernel module. Alas, that module is not available on my XA2.

So a +1 for including common (desktop) mainline kernel modules. I too expect the required extra resources needed to be negligible.

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