[OpenBIOS] Code Structure

[Chris Arguin]

Partially to get people talking about what we should support, I would like
to propose a possible code layout. A fairly simple method of sorting the
source code that should be fairly extensible.

   memory/       <- how to setup cache, memory timing, etc...
   Bus/
	PCI/   
	ISA/
	AGP/         <- How to access and set up those buses
	USB/
	etc...
   Drives/           <- for our purposes, anything that can boot
	Floppy/
	IDE/
	SCSI/
   Interface/        <- The front-end
	Input/       <- Where do we get input from, and how
	Output/      <- Where do we send output, and how
   Common/           <- Whatever code that is common
   misc/             <- Anything else

For example, my computer would be built with something like

   memory/Intel/82437FX
   Bus/PCI/Intel/82437X
   BUS/ISA/Intel/PIIX
   Drives/Floppy/Std_Floppy
   Drives/IDE/PIIX
   Drives/SCSI/NCR53c8xx
   Interface/Power_CLI
   Interface/Input/Keyboard
   Interface/Output/VGA_text
   misc/std_timer

The Interface/Power_CLI would be something like the Sun-bootloader, or the
Alpha console. Other possibilities would be a standard (like in most PCs),
or maybe a PC96 compliant one, if that applies.

Notice that you can easily change to a serial boot if desired, and I think
this sort of division allows for quite a bit of flexibility. Configuration
scripts can hide much of the actual details (for example, I would just
select the Intel 430fx chipset, which would set up the Memory, PCI, ISA,
and all that).

Comments? 

--
Chris Arguin          | "While I'm still confused and uncertain, it's on a 
Chris.Arguin at unh.edu  |  much higher plane... at least I know I'm bewildered 
                      |  about the really fundamental and important facts of 
                      |  the universe." - Equal Rites, Terry Pratchett






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