[OpenBIOS] User-extentions (was Re: More comments and a proposal...)

[Alle Metzlar]

Alexander Viro wrote:

> On Sat, 28 Feb 1998, Dave Cinege wrote:
>
> <snip>
> >
> > The BIOS **MUST** be able to at least read one common FS or this projects
> > usfulness has been cut down 10,000%!
> >
>         Why? What kind of filesystem should it understand? FAT??? Damn,
> I'ld prefer not to have the stinker around at all. And it would be the
> last place where I'ld put the kernel. Especially if DOS will be able to
> access it. Not to mention Sucks95 or NT. If it comes to that - who needs
> access to the filesystem? DOS - no. It has its own bootloader that _must_
> be present in the first sector of partition. Sucks - also no. By the same
> reasons. NT? Has its own loader. OS/2 - ditto. What remains? Right, all
> kinds of UNIX. Considering the fact that Linux and *BSD are free what
> prevents us from making our own filesystem and implementing it for these
> systems? It _must_ be more reliable than FAT. Solaris is not free, but
> that's the reason why you don't recompile the kernel there. As far as I
> can understand you don't like the fact that LILO should be executed on
> each recompilation of the kernel, right? So it's an issue only for free
> systems.
>         Comments?
>                                                                 Al

 YES! What is BIOS? In my opinion nothing more than a small layer between
hardware and OS. Lots of functions of BIOS could be handled by the OS, except
for POST routines. FS: let this be handled by the OS. Remind Linux: it can
coexist next to any possible OS.

Again, what is BIOS? At startup or reset, the CPU points at address F000:FFF0.
At this point BIOS should start execution of POST, a couple of test and
initialization routines. At a certain point POST activates INT 19h. INT 19h
read the boot sector (sector 1, track 0) from the (primary) boot device, and
writes these data to address 0000:7C00h, and BIOS transfers control to the data
a this address, which in turn loads the OS. Want to change this? Then you will
probably also have to rewrite most or all OSses. So, what's the goal of
OpenBIOS. A BIOS that can only be used by a few people, or a BIOS that can be
used by everybode who wants to, whatever OS they use, whether it sucks or not!

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Alle Metzlar
Matrix Technologies
P.O. Box 40, NL 1724 ZG Oudkarspel
The Netherlands
Tel: (+31) 226 316889 Fax: (+31) 226 312157
EMail: matrix at xs4all.nl
WWW:   http://www.xs4all.nl/~matrix/  (Matrix Technologies' BIOS Web)
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Author of:
Het BIOS boekje, Uitg. Pim Oets, ISBN 90-5722-013X
Das BIOS Buch, Franzis' Verlag, ISBN 3-7723-4832-7
Die BIOS CD-ROM, Franzis' Verlag, ISBN 3-7723-8612-1
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