[LinuxBIOS] [RFC] Call for Action: LinuxBIOS foundations

[Carl-Daniel Hailfinger]

On 27.08.2007 18:12, Stefan Reinauer wrote:
> Carl-Daniel Hailfinger wrote:
>> Hi,
>>
>> since we're aiming for broader coverage in LinuxBIOS and related tools,
>> I think we should publish a "Call for Action" which urges interested
>> people to give us dumps of their board configuration etc.
>>   
> We had such calls before, and people would send in their board
> information, assuming that this would be enough for us to support their

Yes.

> hardware. Unfortunately not a single new port resulted from this, though
> many people participated and lots of (unaccomplished) expectations were

The expectations are a bit of a problem. This also has to do with our
shortage of skilled manpower and the very steep learning curve for doing
a port in v2.

> created. So I carefully wonder what the real goal of such a call would
> be, except gathering random people with random boards? Something like:
> We have 10 people who are willing to work on this or that mainboard if
> you get them a system they can keep for doing the work, given that the

Would it be possible to create sort of a pseudo-port which only ensures
working RAM, serial and flashing? Such a pseudo-port would leave people
with two options/payloads over serial:
- reflash proprietary BIOS
- try to init north-/southbridge with the current version of the code

> northbridge and southbridge are already supported... Other ideas?

Maybe a call for action for tools only? Flashrom and probe_superio
support are necessary requirements for easy porting. And if our tools
get used for stuff besides LinuxBIOS (maybe in the lm-sensors project or
somewhere else), they get wider testing coverage and maybe even outside
contributors. I see this chance especially for flashrom.
People want to flash their proprietary BIOS under Linux now, without
having to reboot. They benefit from flashrom support for their system as
much as we do. Giving people a working tool for something that is really
complicated right now could even make them interested in LinuxBIOS.
After all, they would have to visit our website to get flashrom.

Thoughts?

Regards,
Carl-Daniel