randconfig+: a tool for sampling random configurations of kconfig-based systems

The artifacts include: The software tool randconfig+ for generating random configurations of any system whose variability is expressed in the Kconfig language. This includes all versions of the Linux Kernel, as well as many other systems such as Barebox, Buildroot, Busybox, Coreboot, Freetz, U-boot, and more. randconfig+ is an evolution of an existing tool called conf, which was initially conceived to manage the Linux Kernel configuration.

Later, conf was forked and adapted by many other systems. As a result, nowadays, there are many conf variants evolving independently, with slightly different functionalities and behaviors. Compared to conf, randconfig+ provides the following advantages: (i) it guarantees the generation of valid configurations, (ii) it provides configurations that are more random and diverse among them, (iii) it is easier to be maintained (a single tool vs. many conf variants specific for each system), and (iv) it enables sampling configurations of numerous Kconfig systems that currently do not incorporate this functionality.