Image modules?

[Al Johnson]

On Saturday 04 July 2009, Glenn Moeller-Holst wrote:
> >  Flashing tar.gz archives makes little sense. You might want to
> >untar it to your / though in case you don't have that modules
> >already.
>
> This is what I am not able to read anywhere:
> *I actually do not know if I already having modules installed? How do
> I test it?

You should if you are using the kernel that matches the rootfs you picked. In 
the terminal run:
	uname -r
This will tell you the kernel release. You should find a matching directory 
under /lib/modules.

> *What is modules used for?

Modules in general are for optional things that you don't want compiled into 
the kernel. They are often drivers.

The modules-version.tar.gz contains an archive of the modules for the kernel 
of the same version. This is needed by people who want to use a different 
kernel to the one originally used for the root image.

> *Is modules (already) included the image?

Yes. The image is built for a particular kernel, and includes the modules for 
that kernel.

> *Why is there a separate file called modules? Why not include it in the
> image?
> *Is modules a standard Linux "thing"?

See answers above.

> I am asking as a novice. I have not encountered information about modules
> at: http://wiki.openmoko.org/

The wiki assumes some basic level of linux knowledge. I guess we should 
include links to some basic linux primers in the 'getting started' page.