kernel source modification & build without doing kernel-patch process

[Jens J.]

Hi there, trying to iterate on making small changes to a kernel driver module, and using armbian to help build the kernel (cross-compiling off the device).

I'm aware of kernel-patch mode, but for making small changes, compiling, and iterating like this over and over, making and then putting patches into place on each cycle is quite cumbersome.
Is there some way to tell armbian build _not_ to update the kernel, i.e. let me build with dirty tree, as I'm in a dev cycle?

 

I just want to edit something in my local kernel tree, then build the kernel, and repeat
 

Edited June 25, 2023 by Jens Jensen

[Andrea]

Any success with this? I have the same question

[going]

@Andrea @Jens J. Currently, the build system is not designed for the development process

and does not have convenient tools for this.

 

Alternatively, you can copy the entire kernel tree after patches have been applied and changes

have been made to it in other non-traditional ways.

Stopping the compilation process as soon as it has started.

The build system deletes some files and replaces them by copying its own or simply copies its own files.

In this copy of the tree, make a commit of the git with the addition of all unindexed files.

Next, you make your changes and commit them. Extract the changes as a patch and place it in custom patches.

 

This method avoids many time-consuming processes, but has one drawback.

The process of applying patches using the python script is accompanied by dividing large patches into

separate pieces and applying them separately.

At the same time, some pieces can be applied with displacement and diffusion in one line.

Thus, the changes end up in another function.
Externally, it looks as if all the patches were applied without errors.

Let's assume that you found this bug and made your own patch of fixes.
 But after a while, the patch author may make corrections and your custom patches will need to be redone.

 

Thank you for your attention.

[Andrea]

Thank you @going, I will evaluate this.