Hi Andy,
I don't think he's wanting this as much for releases (which would be fine with the git id as you mentioned), but during the development process. It is very useful during development to have a timestamp which confirms that what you are running now is what you expect. There are various ways I have used this:
- Catch that I failed to copy the new image to my tftp directory
- Confirm that I'm booting from the flash bank I just programmed
- Helpful for figuring out which of the files in my tftp directory
corresponds to what's running
100% agree - all our releases are generated from fully-committed git trees with tags. This patch only intends to improve development.
Also, while I can see good arguments for not having a time stamp, having one that is not up-to-date seems totally useless. The stamp might not be updated for months, and thus provides only an indicator as to when the date was last updated.
Upshot: I endorse this patch's concept, and urge Peter to put in his (apparently underpaid) time to complete it. :)
I'll submit a patch shortly. I'll also mention the underpaid comment to management and see what comes of that;)
Peter