Date: Sat, 22 Mar 2025 14:39:55 +0000 From: "Steven Harms (High-Security Mail)" <sgharms@stevengharms.com> To: Emmanuel Vadot <manu@bidouilliste.com> Cc: "freebsd-current@freebsd.org" <freebsd-current@freebsd.org> Subject: Re: Confused by boot_mute documentation, terminal systems, and goals Message-ID: <IuvzmnhD4vYLvzYFNfqlnsHEuLYW1BBdq0oyqIBN19Gtcmu0InyW_nW-HBLJgvOHHL-iRKdlIT3knFar-ABBywsXttlEFB0MFuJFwKX8GuI=@stevengharms.com> In-Reply-To: <20250322080212.0fe0e090d8e942105e9feb65@bidouilliste.com> References: <yw3mAouLdDUVmedjlsKlJpU4DIurALPYUxq-W0lxV28NzgYbl4HOLB7neEcumnF4Rmy_5jMqdRIDMCKxUka22ah56runpDp6lq9Syq62u2Y=@stevengharms.com> <20250322080212.0fe0e090d8e942105e9feb65@bidouilliste.com>
index | next in thread | previous in thread | raw e-mail
[-- Attachment #1 --] Manu, Thanks for the reply and its consideration. My most-desired outcome would be to boot my system: bios screen -> boot_mute screen (either of custom choice, solid black, FreeBSD word-logo) -> login. Alternatively said, I want nothing of beastie or beastie orb. And I don’t care about kernel problems screen output OR RC startup output. I do my kernel builds on old hardware — using FreeBSD to help with giving old machines new life / longer life is a contribution I can make to reducing electronic waste. I have a build running right now so I can’t double check the language / versioning in the man pages, but will update later today after I install the world. On Sat, Mar 22, 2025 at 03:02, Emmanuel Vadot <[manu@bidouilliste.com](mailto:On Sat, Mar 22, 2025 at 03:02, Emmanuel Vadot <<a href=)> wrote: > Hi, > > On Fri, 21 Mar 2025 22:13:29 +0000 > "Steven Harms (High-Security Mail)" <sgharms@stevengharms.com> wrote: > >> 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] > > Indeed, this sould be fixed :) > >> - 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? > > It shouldn't put the orb on the top of the screen, this is controlled > by kern.vt.splash_cpu which defaults to 0 > >> - 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... > > The splash(4) man pages was updated to reflect this, are you looking > at an older revision of the man page ? > >> - 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. > > No need to create an image embedded in kernel, with vt(4) you can load > a png image. > >> 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? > > Looks correct yes. > >> 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. > > What are you trying to do exactly ? > >> 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. > > Cheers, > > -- > Emmanuel Vadot <manu@bidouilliste.com> <manu@freebsd.org> [-- Attachment #2 --] <html><head></head><body> <div dir="auto">Manu,</div><div dir="auto"><br></div><div dir="auto">Thanks for the reply and its consideration. My most-desired outcome would be to boot my system: bios screen -> boot_mute screen (either of custom choice, solid black, FreeBSD word-logo) -> login. </div><div dir="auto"><br></div><div dir="auto">Alternatively said, I want nothing of beastie or beastie orb. And I don’t care about kernel problems screen output OR RC startup output.</div><div dir="auto"><br></div><div dir="auto">I do my kernel builds on old hardware — using FreeBSD to help with giving old machines new life / longer life is a contribution I can make to reducing electronic waste. I have a build running right now so I can’t double check the language / versioning in the man pages, but will update later today after I install the world.</div><div dir="auto"><br></div><div dir="auto"><br></div><div dir="auto">On Sat, Mar 22, 2025 at 03:02, Emmanuel Vadot <<a class="" href="mailto:On Sat, Mar 22, 2025 at 03:02, Emmanuel Vadot <<a href=">manu@bidouilliste.com</a>> wrote:<br></div><blockquote type="cite" class="protonmail_quote"> <br> Hi, <br> <br>On Fri, 21 Mar 2025 22:13:29 +0000 <br>"Steven Harms (High-Security Mail)" <sgharms@stevengharms.com> wrote: <br> <br>> Folks, <br>> <br>> 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. <br>> <br>> - boot_mute doesn't appear in [loader.conf(8)][1] <br> <br> Indeed, this sould be fixed :) <br> <br>> - 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? <br> <br> It shouldn't put the orb on the top of the screen, this is controlled <br>by kern.vt.splash_cpu which defaults to 0 <br> <br>> - 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... <br> <br> The splash(4) man pages was updated to reflect this, are you looking <br>at an older revision of the man page ? <br> <br>> - 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. <br> <br> No need to create an image embedded in kernel, with vt(4) you can load <br>a png image. <br> <br>> 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? <br> <br> Looks correct yes. <br> <br>> 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. <br> <br> What are you trying to do exactly ? <br> <br>> Best, <br>> <br>> Steven <br>> <br>> [1]: https://github.com/freebsd/freebsd-src/blob/main/stand/defaults/loader.conf.5 <br>> [2]: https://github.com/freebsd/freebsd-src/blob/283be95ea29abd7f867e4084bafe368c47f6c038/stand/defaults/loader.conf#L134 <br>> [splash]: https://github.com/freebsd/freebsd-src/blob/283be95ea29abd7f867e4084bafe368c47f6c038/stand/defaults/loader.conf#L30 <br>> [3]: https://github.com/freebsd/freebsd-src/blob/main/sys/dev/vt/vt_cpulogos.c#L79-L91 <br>> --- <br>> <br>> Public Key: 22BE39E2FA68D8BA8DC4B43A55A16D8CE2B036DE <br>> <br>> 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. <br>> <br>> Sent with [Proton Mail](https://proton.me/mail/home) secure email. <br> <br> Cheers, <br> <br>-- <br>Emmanuel Vadot <manu@bidouilliste.com> <manu@freebsd.org> <br></blockquote></body></html>home | help
Want to link to this message? Use this
URL: <https://mail-archive.FreeBSD.org/cgi/mid.cgi?IuvzmnhD4vYLvzYFNfqlnsHEuLYW1BBdq0oyqIBN19Gtcmu0InyW_nW-HBLJgvOHHL-iRKdlIT3knFar-ABBywsXttlEFB0MFuJFwKX8GuI=>