The responses to this question are the reasons I asked this question. (and no, I still will have no time to help. My crystal ball says that my schedule is going to get a lot worse before it even remotely starts to improve. Sorry - guess I will have to lurk and suggest only). It seems that there is a overall consensus on what the OPENBIOS will do, but I have yet to see agreement on the type of platform the BIOS will be developed around.
I did go and look at the link to the IEEE information on OPENBIOS and to the web page that this mail list is working with (just in case you have deleted that email, try http://www.freiburg.linux.de/OpenBIOS/). To be honest I didn't know these web pages were there before I asked the platform question. However, on the mail list web page, in the portion that talks about developing a BIOS, (http://www.freiburg.linux.de/OpenBIOS/dev/) there are several steps mentioned at the beginning of the process involving choosing a platform. These are very logical steps, and will be necessary for each of you to follow.
I would like to make a suggestion. Find a good, qualified, motherboard, maybe one that most of you already have, and the rest of you beg, borrow, or buy that same motherboard.
If everyone has the same platform as a starting point, you eliminate a massive amount of variables in the development cycle. Once the code is rock solid on that platform, start porting it to other systems. Also, if everyone has the same hardware, everyone can help each other with the problems that will appear.
As most prople know, it is hard enough to get a single set of code to run on one platform with one programmer writting the code. Adding multiple programmers, different writing styles, and calling conventions will really add confusion to the mix. Throw in a dozen motherboards or chipsets, and you really get a Pandora Box.
I do realize that there are standards out there, and the IEEE web page address's these. I also realize that as a bona fide lurker, and a preferred hardware puke, I don't know everything there is to know about software system design or high performance systems. However, after over ten years of hardware / firmware development on small computer systems, I have learned that the KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid) approach saves an infinite amount of time.
I guess that what I am trying to do is stand back from the desired end product, and define the beginning point for the project. Since I do not have an emotional tie to the project (I think), I am just trying to lend a hand in holding back on the enthusiasm (just a little) and at least making you think out the entire process a little more.
All for now. Feel free to throw all the feathers you want my way, but go easy with the rocks!!!
Lloyd
----- Original Message ----- From: "Ronald G Minnich" rminnich@lanl.gov To: openbios@elvis.informatik.uni-freiburg.de Sent: Tuesday, August 21, 2001 1:00 PM Subject: Re: [OpenBIOS] Platform for the OPENBIOS question
On Tue, 21 Aug 2001, Mads Martin Jørgensen wrote:
Maybe I missed it, but for the Open BIOS that is being discussed, is there a specific single board computer (SBC), motherboard, chipset (or ?) that the BIOS will be targeted on.
I think we would eventually want drivers for a lot of different constellations.
yep, that's what we all want. But you're going to have to pick one to start.
You might want to try the SiS 630E based mainboards, since both Tiara and linuxbios run on those. So we understand the issues.
No, AFAIK it will be targeted to be Open Firmware compliant, and therefore working on different archs.
that doesn't make any sense to me. the arch has nothing to do with open firmware compliance.
ron
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