Did you look at the git history? E.G. git blame Config.in and then the commit adding the lines above?
It is imho quite clear what it does, how and why from the commit description:
https://git.buildroot.org/buildroot/commit/?id=1d4104f0d0428297a8b447a0e08c81a9eaee7f62
commit 1d4104f0d0428297a8b447a0e08c81a9eaee7f62
Author: Francois Perrad <fperrad@gmail.com>
Date: Wed Jul 18 15:59:09 2012 +0200
add host arch detection and Kconfig BR2_HOSTARCH
This will allow to install binary package only if they are supported by the
host. As example Atmel SAM-BA (x86 only).
Signed-off-by: Jean-Christophe PLAGNIOL-VILLARD <plagnioj@jcrosoft.com>
Signed-off-by: Thomas Petazzoni <thomas.petazzoni@free-electrons.com>
Acked-by: Arnout Vandecappelle (Essensium/Mind) <arnout@mind.be>
diff --git a/Config.in b/Config.in
index 925c2474c..c182f7044 100644
--- a/Config.in
+++ b/Config.in
@@ -10,6 +10,10 @@ config BR2_VERSION
string
option env="BR2_VERSION_FULL"
+config BR2_HOSTARCH
+ string
+ option env="HOSTARCH"
+
source "target/Config.in.arch"
menu "Build options"
diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index d55b136a8..639fdaa1f 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -32,6 +32,16 @@ ifneq ($(firstword $(sort $(MAKE_VERSION) $(MIN_MAKE_VERSION))),$(MIN_MAKE_VERSI
$(error You have make '$(MAKE_VERSION)' installed. GNU make >= $(MIN_MAKE_VERSION) is required)
endif
+export HOSTARCH := $(shell uname -m | \
+ sed -e s/i.86/x86/ \
+ -e s/sun4u/sparc64/ \
+ -e s/arm.*/arm/ \
+ -e s/sa110/arm/ \
+ -e s/ppc64/powerpc/ \
+ -e s/ppc/powerpc/ \
+ -e s/macppc/powerpc/\
+ -e s/sh.*/sh/)
+
# This top-level Makefile can *not* be executed in parallel
.NOTPARALLEL:
E.G. it is the output of uname -m with a bit of post processing, which gets forwarded to Kconfig through the environment. It isn't stored in .config as it is a "blind" option, E.G. without a prompt.
Is that any specific reason why you ask this?