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From: "Henning P. Schmiedehausen" <mailgate@hometree.net>
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Date: Mon, 11 Jun 2001 08:45:43 +0000 (UTC)
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"Albert D. Cahalan" <acahalan@cs.uml.edu> writes:

>Yep.

>Consider a chunk of x86 instructions using a home-grown OS
>abstraction layer, and drivers that implement that layer for
>both Linux and any non-GPL operating system. The binary blob
>is obviously not derived from Linux, and may in fact run
>without modification in a BSD or Solaris/x86 kernel.

I had an interesting discussion with my brother-in-law at this
weekend: What is source code?

In my (very much younger days), I used to hack in 8085 and Z80
assembler and even hex codes directly onto the disk / files using all
those scary tools like DDT and M80/L80 under CP/M (those were the days
when Microsoft tools were really bleeding edge. ;-) )

What if there is really a warbled indivdual that can write a driver in
object code? Or at least in x86 assembler and then performs the magic
necessary to link it into the kernel?

Is this a "binary only" driver or just a driver on par with the NVidia
that is just "GPL'ed but unreadable"?

	Regards
		Henning


-- 
Henning Schmiedehausen     "They took the credit for your second symphony. 
hps@intermeta.de            Rewritten by machine and "New Technology".         
henning@forge.franken.de    and now I understand the problems you can see."
                                                        -- The Buggles, 1979