[Slightly OT] x86 PROM project

[Slightly OT] x86 PROM project

[Matthew Fredrickson]

What does everybody think of the idea of trying to write a RISC PROM-like
BIOS for the x86 architecture?

I've been tossing the idea around in my head for a while, and after I got
my first SGI I realized that something like this would be fairly useful.
Basically, I'm wondering if anybody is already doing something like this
(not linuxBIOS, though the code for that could be a useful base).  Thanks.


Matthew Fredrickson

Re: [Slightly OT] x86 PROM project

[Erik Mouw]

On Sun, Mar 04, 2001 at 12:29:47PM -0600, Matthew Fredrickson wrote:
> What does everybody think of the idea of trying to write a RISC PROM-like
> BIOS for the x86 architecture?
> 
> I've been tossing the idea around in my head for a while, and after I got
> my first SGI I realized that something like this would be fairly useful.
> Basically, I'm wondering if anybody is already doing something like this
> (not linuxBIOS, though the code for that could be a useful base).  Thanks.

Have a look at OpenBIOS:

  http://www.freiburg.linux.de/OpenBIOS/

The project wants to create an IEEE 1275-1994 compliant firmware, like
used by SUN (for example).


Erik
[who likes SUN firmware even more than SGI firmware]

-- 
J.A.K. (Erik) Mouw, Information and Communication Theory Group, Department
of Electrical Engineering, Faculty of Information Technology and Systems,
Delft University of Technology, PO BOX 5031,  2600 GA Delft, The Netherlands
Phone: +31-15-2783635  Fax: +31-15-2781843  Email: J.A.K.Mouw@its.tudelft.nl
WWW: http://www-ict.its.tudelft.nl/~erik/

Re: [Slightly OT] x86 PROM project

[Matthew Jacob]

On Sun, 4 Mar 2001, Erik Mouw wrote:

> On Sun, Mar 04, 2001 at 12:29:47PM -0600, Matthew Fredrickson wrote:
> > What does everybody think of the idea of trying to write a RISC PROM-like
> > BIOS for the x86 architecture?
> > 
> > I've been tossing the idea around in my head for a while, and after I got
> > my first SGI I realized that something like this would be fairly useful.
> > Basically, I'm wondering if anybody is already doing something like this
> > (not linuxBIOS, though the code for that could be a useful base).  Thanks.
> 
> Have a look at OpenBIOS:
> 
>   http://www.freiburg.linux.de/OpenBIOS/
> 
> The project wants to create an IEEE 1275-1994 compliant firmware, like
> used by SUN (for example).
> 

and apple && ibm
> 

Re: [Slightly OT] x86 PROM project

[Matthew Fredrickson]

On Sun, Mar 04, 2001 at 08:08:32PM +0100, Erik Mouw wrote:
> Have a look at OpenBIOS:
> 
>   http://www.freiburg.linux.de/OpenBIOS/
> 
> The project wants to create an IEEE 1275-1994 compliant firmware, like
> used by SUN (for example).

I don't want to appear to be offensive in regards to this project
considering I have no prior knowledge about it other than what I've seen
at the web site just now, but it appears that there is a lot more talk
than coding occuring at this project.  It just appears that everybody has
wants but nobody is turning the wants into realities.  Maybe I'm wrong
(and I hope I am), but it just seems to be a bit vaporous.

> [who likes SUN firmware even more than SGI firmware]
[I was just using SGI as an example]

Matthew Fredrickson

Re: [Slightly OT] x86 PROM project

[Michal Jaegermann]

On Sun, Mar 04, 2001 at 02:02:38PM -0600, Matthew Fredrickson wrote:
> On Sun, Mar 04, 2001 at 08:08:32PM +0100, Erik Mouw wrote:
> > Have a look at OpenBIOS:
> > 
> >   http://www.freiburg.linux.de/OpenBIOS/
> > 
> > The project wants to create an IEEE 1275-1994 compliant firmware, like
> > used by SUN (for example).
> 
> I don't want to appear to be offensive in regards to this project
> considering I have no prior knowledge about it other than what I've seen
> at the web site just now, but it appears that there is a lot more talk
> than coding occuring at this project.

Ok, so what about this one?

    http://www.acl.lanl.gov/linuxbios/

The code is on sourceforge.

   Michal

Re: [Slightly OT] x86 PROM project

[Khyron]

Because the original question was:

"I've been tossing the idea around in my head for a while, and after
I got my first SGI I realized that something like this would be fairly
useful. Basically, I'm wondering if anybody is already doing something
like this (not linuxBIOS, though the code for that could be a useful
base). Thanks."

Note the _not_ linuxBIOS part.

If memory serves, you said...

> On Sun, Mar 04, 2001 at 02:02:38PM -0600, Matthew Fredrickson wrote:
> > On Sun, Mar 04, 2001 at 08:08:32PM +0100, Erik Mouw wrote:
> > > Have a look at OpenBIOS:
> > >
> > >   http://www.freiburg.linux.de/OpenBIOS/
> > >
> > > The project wants to create an IEEE 1275-1994 compliant firmware, like
> > > used by SUN (for example).
> >
> > I don't want to appear to be offensive in regards to this project
> > considering I have no prior knowledge about it other than what I've seen
> > at the web site just now, but it appears that there is a lot more talk
> > than coding occuring at this project.
>
> Ok, so what about this one?
>
>     http://www.acl.lanl.gov/linuxbios/
>
> The code is on sourceforge.
>
>    Michal
> -
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////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
Khyron					    mailto:khyron@khyron.com
Key fingerprint = 53BB 08CA 6A4B 8AF8 DF9B  7E71 2D20 AD30 6684 E82D
			"Drama free in 2001!"
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Re: [Slightly OT] x86 PROM project

[Thomas Lau]

On Sunday 04 March 2001 19:08, Erik Mouw wrote:
> On Sun, Mar 04, 2001 at 12:29:47PM -0600, Matthew Fredrickson wrote:
> > What does everybody think of the idea of trying to write a RISC PROM-like
> > BIOS for the x86 architecture?
> >
> > I've been tossing the idea around in my head for a while, and after I got
> > my first SGI I realized that something like this would be fairly useful.
> > Basically, I'm wondering if anybody is already doing something like this
> > (not linuxBIOS, though the code for that could be a useful base). 
> > Thanks.
>
> Have a look at OpenBIOS:
>
>   http://www.freiburg.linux.de/OpenBIOS/
>
> The project wants to create an IEEE 1275-1994 compliant firmware, like
> used by SUN (for example).
>
>
> Erik
> [who likes SUN firmware even more than SGI firmware]


How can I install openbios ?
also, can I use it in x86 PC?
and is it better than my award BIOS?
last question, is it support windows if I want to change to windows again? M$ 
one I mean

Re: [Slightly OT] x86 PROM project

[John Jasen]

On Sun, 4 Mar 2001, Erik Mouw wrote:

> Have a look at OpenBIOS:
>
>   http://www.freiburg.linux.de/OpenBIOS/
>
> The project wants to create an IEEE 1275-1994 compliant firmware, like
> used by SUN (for example).

I'd like to see something like SRM; but with better support.

(SRM is the 'BIOS' for alphas, BTW).

Re: [Slightly OT] x86 PROM project

[Khyron]

http://playground.sun.com/1275/

http://www.firmworks.com/

If memory serves, you said...

> What does everybody think of the idea of trying to write a RISC PROM-like
> BIOS for the x86 architecture?
>
> I've been tossing the idea around in my head for a while, and after I got
> my first SGI I realized that something like this would be fairly useful.
> Basically, I'm wondering if anybody is already doing something like this
> (not linuxBIOS, though the code for that could be a useful base).  Thanks.
>
>
> Matthew Fredrickson
> -
> To unsubscribe from this list: send the line "unsubscribe linux-kernel" in
> the body of a message to majordomo@vger.kernel.org
> More majordomo info at  http://vger.kernel.org/majordomo-info.html
> Please read the FAQ at  http://www.tux.org/lkml/
>

////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
Khyron					    mailto:khyron@khyron.com
Key fingerprint = 53BB 08CA 6A4B 8AF8 DF9B  7E71 2D20 AD30 6684 E82D
			"Drama free in 2001!"
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Re: [Slightly OT] x86 PROM project

[Rick Hohensee]

>
>What does everybody think of the idea of trying to write a RISC PROM-like
>BIOS for the x86 architecture?
>
>I've been tossing the idea around in my head for a while, and after I got
>my first SGI I realized that something like this would be fairly useful.
>Basically, I'm wondering if anybody is already doing something like this
>(not linuxBIOS, though the code for that could be a useful
>base).  Thanks.

Where this is on topic is in comp.lang.forth, since Open Firmware is a
Forth. One of the c.l.f elders recently said he was going to wander off
for a while and come back with what he could find out about this. I've
copied a post or two on this subject to c.l.f since then. 

Related stuff; the FreeBSD bootloader is a Forth based on FICL, which is a
Forth geared to be embedded in apps. In the hour or two I looked at that I
couldn't get my bearings in the FBSD sources. I believe Open Firmware is
bytecodes, and O.F. cards have actual drivers on them an O.F. host can
request and thread into the O.F. dictionary (compile, in other words.)
Most Forths are not bytecodes. Most Forths are address-threaded, or
subroutine threaded, i.e. native code but implementing a true 2-stack
virtual machine, or true 2-stack silicon. This is quite unlike Java, for
example, which has Forth-like stack operators that are
returnstack-frame-scoped, i.e. aren't an autonomous second stack.

Rick Hohensee
www.clienux.com


My 3-stack machine and other oddities are in 
ftp://ftp.gwdg.de/pub/linux/install/clienux/interim