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From: Tim Kientzle <kientzle@freebsd.org>
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Date: Thu, 24 May 2012 09:01:19 -0700
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To: Damjan Marion <dmarion@freebsd.org>
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Subject: Re: Customizing ubldr build...
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On May 24, 2012, at 1:16 AM, Damjan Marion wrote:

> On May 24, 2012, at 6:35 AM, Tim Kientzle wrote:
>=20
>> I think the PandaBoard ES is fully supported by U-Boot,
>> so it should be possible to use ubldr as part of the boot
>> chain for that just like I've been doing with BeagleBone.
>=20
> What are the benefits of using ubldr compared to what we are doing =
today(load; go)?

For a fully custom closed embedded system, nothing.

But as we move towards more generic kernels that support more
environments, ubldr has the ability to:
  * Load the kernel from UFS (which in turn means that end users can use =
buildkernel/installkernel to update the kernel)
  * Load the device tree separately from the kernel.
  * Interactively edit the device tree
  * Preload specific modules
  * Script the boot process (the i386 interactive boot menu is a Forth =
script that runs on the stock loader; ubldr has the same ability)

Tim