Date: Tue, 6 Jun 2000 13:20:51 -0400 From: Coleman Kane <cokane@one.net> To: Randell Jesup <rjesup@wgate.com> Cc: Coleman Kane <cokane@one.net>, Mike Smith <msmith@freebsd.org>, Alfred Perlstein <bright@wintelcom.net>, hackers@freebsd.org Subject: Re: kerneld for FreeBSD Message-ID: <20000606132051.A11891@cokane.yi.org> In-Reply-To: <ybuog5ekhhj.fsf@jesup.eng.tvol.net.jesup.eng.tvol.net>; from rjesup@wgate.com on Tue, Jun 06, 2000 at 10:31:52AM -0400 References: <20000606024917.B2006@cokane.yi.org> <ybuog5ekhhj.fsf@jesup.eng.tvol.net.jesup.eng.tvol.net>
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Yeah, it would be especially useful for the installation boot disks as well, to
have the ability to make a tiny kernel and load the appropriate device drivers.
Perhaps a database of some sort that keeps track of device IDs for various
drivers, to be able to auto load them. That's one example.
Randell Jesup had the audacity to say:
> Lack of this has (in my mind) long been one of the primary failings
> of most Unix's, at least in heterogenous environments like PC's (and just
> about any machine with significant hardware expansion capabilities).
> Modern machines not only add hardware when being built, but between boots,
> and even in the middle of a session (USB, 1394, etc). A dynamically-loaded
> driver system is the obvious choice. This would make it far simpler for
> users to configure machines (and add and remove hardware), to distribute
> drivers, etc. IMHO, of course.
>
> Historical reference:
> The Amiga introduced hardware "Autoconfig" 15 years ago; and not
> horribly long after that Mach had some form of loadable drivers (correct me
> if I'm wrong; I know it had user-mode filesystems - I only observed Mach
> from a distance outside of playing a little with a 1st-gen nExt).
>
> --
> Randell Jesup, Worldgate Communications, ex-Scala, ex-Amiga OS team ('88-94)
> rjesup@wgate.com
>
--
Coleman Kane
President,
UC Free O.S. Users Group - http://pohl.ececs.uc.edu
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