Date: Fri, 21 Mar 2025 22:13:29 +0000 From: "Steven Harms (High-Security Mail)" <sgharms@stevengharms.com> To: "freebsd-current@freebsd.org" <freebsd-current@freebsd.org> Subject: Confused by boot_mute documentation, terminal systems, and goals Message-ID: <yw3mAouLdDUVmedjlsKlJpU4DIurALPYUxq-W0lxV28NzgYbl4HOLB7neEcumnF4Rmy_5jMqdRIDMCKxUka22ah56runpDp6lq9Syq62u2Y=@stevengharms.com>
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[-- Attachment #1 --] Folks, I am attempting to figure out what boot_mute wants me to do. I'm trying to make a "laptop guide" and I'm confused. I'm not a C programmer at this scale of sophistication so there's a decent chance I'm foolishly making an error, but current is not doing what I expect. - boot_mute doesn't appear in [loader.conf(8)][1] - In the defaults/loader.conf file it [appears][2] and says: that it exists to mute the console. I daresay that it's doing more than that, because activating it puts a logo + beastie orb on the screen. Question: Should the comment be updated? - The only other mention of boot_mute is on the line that specifies that the overlay image can be controlled through configuration of the [splash] value implying that instead of using the encoded array of unsigned char in the kernel at https://github.com/freebsd/freebsd-src/blob/main/sys/dev/vt/logo/logo_beastie.c. Whoa! A nice configurable option? Nice. Looking at the git history on that file it appears to be part of splash(4). And /that/ document says ..."work with syscons(4) only". OK so maybe that comment in defaults also needs updating? Because... - My impression is that vt(4) is the way forward at present which means that I was following a bad path and we're /back/ to using the [in-kernel defined image][3] for the splash screen that's triggered by boot_mute? I really don't understand the image packing as chars well enough to reverse how to create a BMP from an array of hex values, but, eh...is this the one that's being shown? Seems like it. There's also quite a bit of logic inside of sys/dev/vt/vt_cpulogos.c[3] that suggests that it's trying to use arrays of chars as overlay. OK, so AFAICT, there are two terminal rendering systems, under-/mis-documented loader.conf flags, and two places where images are defined: in the vt device directory and the images/ directory. Question: Can anyone confirm / deny my assessment? After all that I'm still a bit confused as to what the expected/desired behavior is. Can anyone help me figure out what the desired behavior is (and maybe I can update the comments)? My current plan is to turn the array into 0x00 and see what happens, but I'd like to know how I can turn the results of that experiment into a patch. Best, Steven [1]: https://github.com/freebsd/freebsd-src/blob/main/stand/defaults/loader.conf.5 [2]: https://github.com/freebsd/freebsd-src/blob/283be95ea29abd7f867e4084bafe368c47f6c038/stand/defaults/loader.conf#L134 [splash]: https://github.com/freebsd/freebsd-src/blob/283be95ea29abd7f867e4084bafe368c47f6c038/stand/defaults/loader.conf#L30 [3]: https://github.com/freebsd/freebsd-src/blob/main/sys/dev/vt/vt_cpulogos.c#L79-L91 --- Public Key: 22BE39E2FA68D8BA8DC4B43A55A16D8CE2B036DE Messages from this account are considered the best-secured and most reliable. Send information regarding health, wealth, or requiring higher standards of security to this address. Sent with [Proton Mail](https://proton.me/mail/home) secure email. [-- Attachment #2 --] <div style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Folks,</div><div style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><br></div><div style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">I am attempting to figure out what boot_mute wants me to do. I'm trying to make a "laptop guide" and I'm confused. I'm not a C programmer at this scale of sophistication so there's a decent chance I'm foolishly making an error, but current is not doing what I expect.</div><div style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><br></div><div><ol data-editing-info="{"orderedStyleType":1,"unorderedStyleType":1}" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;" data-listchain="__List_Chain_506"><li style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; list-style-type: "1. ";"><span>boot_mute doesn't appear in [loader.conf(8)][1]</span></li><li style="list-style-type: "2. ";"><font face="Arial, sans-serif">In the defaults/loader.conf file it [appears][2] and says: that it exists to mute the console. I daresay that it's doing more than that, because activating it puts a logo + beastie orb on the screen. Question: Should the comment be updated?</font></li><li style="list-style-type: "3. ";"><font face="Arial, sans-serif">The only other mention of boot_mute is on the line that specifies that the overlay image can be controlled through configuration of the [splash] value implying that</font><span style="font-size: 0.875rem;"> instead of using the encoded array of unsigned char in the kernel at </span><span style="font-size: 0.875rem;"><a target="_blank" rel="noreferrer nofollow noopener" href="https://github.com/freebsd/freebsd-src/blob/main/sys/dev/vt/logo/logo_beastie.c">https://github.com/freebsd/freebsd-src/blob/main/sys/dev/vt/logo/logo_beastie.c</a>. Whoa! A nice configurable option? Nice. Looking at the git history on that file it appears to be part of splash(4). And /that/ document says ..."work with </span><span style="font-size: 0.875rem;">syscons(4) only". OK so maybe that comment in defaults also needs updating? Because...</span></li><li style="list-style-type: "4. "; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">My impression is that vt(4) is the way forward at present which means that I was following a bad path and we're /back/ to using the [in-kernel defined image][3] for the splash screen that's triggered by boot_mute? I really don't understand the image packing as chars well enough to reverse how to create a BMP from an array of hex values, but, eh...is this the one that's being shown? Seems like it. <span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">There's also quite a bit of logic inside of sys/dev/vt/vt_cpulogos.c[3] that suggests that it's trying to use arrays of chars as overlay.</span></li></ol><div style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font face="Arial, sans-serif"><br></font></div><div style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font face="Arial, sans-serif">OK, so AFAICT, there are two terminal rendering systems, under-/mis-documented loader.conf flags, and two places where images are defined: in the vt device directory and the images/ directory. Question: Can anyone confirm / deny my assessment?</font></div><div style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font face="Arial, sans-serif"><br></font></div></div><div style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font face="Arial, sans-serif">After all that I'm still a bit confused as to what the expected/desired behavior is. Can anyone help me figure out what the desired behavior is (and maybe I can update the comments)? My current plan is to turn the array into 0x00 and see what happens, but I'd like to know how I can turn the results of that experiment into a patch.</font></div><div style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font face="Arial, sans-serif"><br></font></div><div style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font face="Arial, sans-serif">Best,</font></div><div style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font face="Arial, sans-serif"><br></font></div><div style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font face="Arial, sans-serif">Steven</font></div><div style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><br></div><div style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">[1]: <span><a target="_blank" rel="noreferrer nofollow noopener" href="https://github.com/freebsd/freebsd-src/blob/main/stand/defaults/loader.conf.5">https://github.com/freebsd/freebsd-src/blob/main/stand/defaults/loader.conf.5</a></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">[2]: <span><a target="_blank" rel="noreferrer nofollow noopener" href="https://github.com/freebsd/freebsd-src/blob/283be95ea29abd7f867e4084bafe368c47f6c038/stand/defaults/loader.conf#L134">https://github.com/freebsd/freebsd-src/blob/283be95ea29abd7f867e4084bafe368c47f6c038/stand/defaults/loader.conf#L134</a></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">[splash]: <span><a target="_blank" rel="noreferrer nofollow noopener" href="https://github.com/freebsd/freebsd-src/blob/283be95ea29abd7f867e4084bafe368c47f6c038/stand/defaults/loader.conf#L30">https://github.com/freebsd/freebsd-src/blob/283be95ea29abd7f867e4084bafe368c47f6c038/stand/defaults/loader.conf#L30</a></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">[3]: <span><a target="_blank" rel="noreferrer nofollow noopener" href="https://github.com/freebsd/freebsd-src/blob/main/sys/dev/vt/vt_cpulogos.c#L79-L91">https://github.com/freebsd/freebsd-src/blob/main/sys/dev/vt/vt_cpulogos.c#L79-L91</a></span></div>; <div class="protonmail_signature_block" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"> <div class="protonmail_signature_block-user"> <div>---<br></div><div><br></div><div style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Public Key: <a title="22BE39E2FA68D8BA8DC4B43A55A16D8CE2B036DE" href="https://22BE39E2FA68D8BA8DC4B43A55A16D8CE2B036DE"><span>22BE39E2FA68D8BA8DC4B43A55A16D8CE2B036DE</span></a><br></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: none; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(34, 34, 34);"><br></div><div>Messages from this account are considered the best-secured and most reliable. 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