Hi all, I trying to determine the difference between selecting a particular item as "*" or "M" when using menuconfig. I've read the URL here:
http://wiki.openwrt.org/doc/howto/build?s[]=menuconfig

It says the following:
If you mark with a '*', the package will be built into the firmware you create.
If you mark it with just an 'M', the package will be built but not installed.

This is consistent with the behavior I'm seeing. Things that I mark as "M" don't show up in the firmware. For example, if I build the Alix-X86 profile but select "kmod_pcnet32" as "M", then the pcnet32 package doesn't seem to be included when I boot the resulting firmware image.

Is it actually included and I need to do something special to load it? Or is it not included at all and my only option is to select "*"?

Thanks in advance.

* build it with image
M build it as packages

see PATHOFWORK/backfire/bin/

you will see images and a directory with packages

cheers

Thanks! I found the packages down in the ./bin/x86/packages directory. Is there any downside to including all the ones I want, about 10 of them, into the image?

If you are just building for yourself, the best way is to include all the needed packages to the build image.

However, you need to pay attention into flash image size and amount of flash memory you have.

Generally speaking you try to build everything that you want in the final image as * as it saves space.
you need to know more about types of images on flash, like whats JFFS, squashfs etc,
then again why you cant delete files from certain flash file systems (bcos they are read only), or some of them only mark your files as deleted  but never really recover the space you gave them when you created the image.

If you really wish to know.. then read this
https://forum.openwrt.org/viewtopic.php?id=2486

if you need more info then don't  hesitate

Cheers!
mohnkhan

mohnkhan, thanks for the input. As it turns out I'm going to be using ext3 on a 2gig compact flash card in my Alix. I'm not terribly concerned about space, and / or read-only issues as it shouldn't apply to me. I've been building my images with all the things I want included with <*>. I suppose I can use <M> after I have the image deployed to add packages after the fact.

http://wiki.openwrt.org/doc/techref/flash.layout
http://wiki.openwrt.org/doc/techref/filesystems
http://wiki.openwrt.org/doc/howto/obtai … e.generate

Packages with * will not be build into the Kernel, but will simply be located on the SquashFS partition. As modules.

To integrate packages into Kernel, you would have to configure your kernel separatly I think.

I agree. Using a <*> in menuconfig adds them as modules.

Using a <*> in kernel_menuconfig builds it into the kernel itself.

So, you question is answered?