Menuconfig

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Explanation

It is intended to be a user-friendly, menu-driven kernel configuration utility, which allows the user to select kernel modules and kernel options/parameters. Menuconfig is an alternative to editing the .config file by hand, although an xconfig target has been added to the kernel Makefile in recent years.

History

The predecessor to menuconfig is a question-based utility (which can be accessed through make config).

Advantages over earlier versions

Despite still being a simple component, menuconfig offers considerable advantages to the question-based configuration tool, the most notable being a basic search system and the ability to load and save files with filenames different from '.config'.

It allows for a relatively easy way to configure the kernel, without having resource-heavy requirements such as the X.Org Server. It also requires significantly less patience to use than its predecessor as options and/or sections which do not need to be changed can safely be ignored without having to supply an answer.

When compared to editing the .config-file by hand, menuconfig has the distinct advantages of not needing a text editor and easily getting help on certain items by pressing the ? (question mark) key.

External links

* [http://bobcares.com/article77.html Tips for successful Kernel Recompilation in Linux]