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-rw-r--r--Documentation/admin-guide/bootconfig.rst34
1 files changed, 31 insertions, 3 deletions
diff --git a/Documentation/admin-guide/bootconfig.rst b/Documentation/admin-guide/bootconfig.rst
index b342a6796392..cf2edcd09183 100644
--- a/Documentation/admin-guide/bootconfig.rst
+++ b/Documentation/admin-guide/bootconfig.rst
@@ -62,6 +62,30 @@ Or more shorter, written as following::
In both styles, same key words are automatically merged when parsing it
at boot time. So you can append similar trees or key-values.
+Same-key Values
+---------------
+
+It is prohibited that two or more values or arrays share a same-key.
+For example,::
+
+ foo = bar, baz
+ foo = qux # !ERROR! we can not re-define same key
+
+If you want to append the value to existing key as an array member,
+you can use ``+=`` operator. For example::
+
+ foo = bar, baz
+ foo += qux
+
+In this case, the key ``foo`` has ``bar``, ``baz`` and ``qux``.
+
+However, a sub-key and a value can not co-exist under a parent key.
+For example, following config is NOT allowed.::
+
+ foo = value1
+ foo.bar = value2 # !ERROR! subkey "bar" and value "value1" can NOT co-exist
+
+
Comments
--------
@@ -102,9 +126,13 @@ Boot Kernel With a Boot Config
==============================
Since the boot configuration file is loaded with initrd, it will be added
-to the end of the initrd (initramfs) image file. The Linux kernel decodes
-the last part of the initrd image in memory to get the boot configuration
-data.
+to the end of the initrd (initramfs) image file with size, checksum and
+12-byte magic word as below.
+
+[initrd][bootconfig][size(u32)][checksum(u32)][#BOOTCONFIG\n]
+
+The Linux kernel decodes the last part of the initrd image in memory to
+get the boot configuration data.
Because of this "piggyback" method, there is no need to change or
update the boot loader and the kernel image itself.