Zack's Kernel News
Zack's Kernel News

Chronicler Zack Brown reports on the latest news, views, dilemmas, and developments within the Linux kernel community.
Avoiding Bloat in Test Kernels
Borislav Petkov updated KConfig's DEBUG_INFO
description to warn users that it would cause "huge bloat" and slow down the build. David Rientjes, however, pointed out that this was only a marginal improvement over the previous description, because it didn't give a clear explanation of what "huge bloat" actually meant. Specifically, David pointed out that the compile option did not result in a larger vmlinux binary. So, where was the bloat?
Linus Torvalds pointed out that the object files would be much larger with DEBUG_INFO
enabled. As an example, he said his fs/built-in.o
file went from 2.8MB without that option enabled, to 11.8MB with DEBUG_INFO
(and DEBUG_INFO_REDUCED
) enabled. He said, "The object files being much bigger really does screw you especially on laptops that often have less memory and less capable IO subsystems. The final links in particular tend to be much bigger and use much more memory."
Linus added, "I suspect a lot of people are in denial about just how *horrible* the overhead of debug builds are. And yeah, if you have oodles of memory to cache things, it's not too bad. But you really want to have *lots* of memory, because otherwise you won't be caching all those object files in RAM, and your build easily becomes IO bound at link time. A factor of four size difference will not be helping your poor slow laptop disk."
[...]
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.

News
-
System76 Releases COSMIC Alpha 7
With scores of bug fixes and a really cool workspaces feature, COSMIC is looking to soon migrate from alpha to beta.
-
OpenMandriva Lx 6.0 Available for Installation
The latest release of OpenMandriva has arrived with a new kernel, an updated Plasma desktop, and a server edition.
-
TrueNAS 25.04 Arrives with Thousands of Changes
One of the most popular Linux-based NAS solutions has rolled out the latest edition, based on Ubuntu 25.04.
-
Fedora 42 Available with Two New Spins
The latest release from the Fedora Project includes the usual updates, a new kernel, an official KDE Plasma spin, and a new System76 spin.
-
So Long, ArcoLinux
The ArcoLinux distribution is the latest Linux distribution to shut down.
-
What Open Source Pros Look for in a Job Role
Learn what professionals in technical and non-technical roles say is most important when seeking a new position.
-
Asahi Linux Runs into Issues with M4 Support
Due to Apple Silicon changes, the Asahi Linux project is at odds with adding support for the M4 chips.
-
Plasma 6.3.4 Now Available
Although not a major release, Plasma 6.3.4 does fix some bugs and offer a subtle change for the Plasma sidebar.
-
Linux Kernel 6.15 First Release Candidate Now Available
Linux Torvalds has announced that the release candidate for the final release of the Linux 6.15 series is now available.
-
Akamai Will Host kernel.org
The organization dedicated to cloud-based solutions has agreed to host kernel.org to deliver long-term stability for the development team.