Hello Wolfgang, Albert,
Dear Masahiro Yamada,
In message 20140213143212.97DA.AA925319@jp.panasonic.com you wrote:
In the case of this patch, (I am not familiar with "ep8248" board, but I guess) ep8248 and ep8248E are different, but probably similar board.
So we can use the common entry "ep8248" for them. And "ep8248" means "ep8248 boards family", not "exactly ep8248 board".
The make target name (and as such the entry in boards.cfg) selects a specific board _configuration_, not a board family or such. We need a convenient way for the user to selct any of the supported configurations, and we also need a convenient way to actually list all supported configurations (for example, to be able to build them all in the autobuilder).
As such, combining different configurations under a common name is not possible. We do need separate entries for each and every configuration (unless someone changes the implementation such that we have another way fulfill the aforementioned requirements).
The motivation for this patch is that I want to consolidate equivalent entries before Kconfig. (I do not want to generate and maintain the same copies, configs/ep8248_defconfig and configs/ep8248E_defconfig. Or create a symbolic link from one to the other?)
If you do not like this patch, you can dismiss it for now. But can I put this discussion to the table again along with Kconfig series?
Anyway, Kconfig patches are not posted yet (please give me a little more time) so I think it is too early for our final decision.
Best Regards Masahiro Yamada