Re: MultiBoot infos

[Luca Abeni]

On Fri, 29 Sep 2000, OKUJI Yoshinori wrote:
`
> > Have I to download the whole GRUB distribution in order to obtain it?
> 
>   Yes. And "./configure && make dvi" will make a GRUB manual in DVI
> format, so you can then convert it to a PS file by dvips or something
> similar.
Thanks. I compiled and read the documentation, and it solved some of my
doubts.

However, I still have a problem. I use Grub to load and execute some
MultiBoot compliant programs that I am developing. Moreover, I also use
a dos extender to run them. If a program understand that is has been
loaded by grub, when it finishes it halts the system, whereas if it
understand that it has been loaded by the dos extender, it returns to
the extender that returns to dos...
In order to do this, the program must not overwrite the dos memory and
the extender image... Hence, it needs to know which part of the system
memory is used by dos and by the extender. MultiBoot specifications
assume that lower memory starts at 0, while upper memory starts at 1
megabyte, but in this case the program must assume different values in
order to not overwrite the DOS and extender memory. I solved the problem
with a ``dirty hack'', adding two fields mem_lower_start and
mem_upper_start to the MultiBoot information structure, but I don't like
this solution (I don't like to use a modified version of a standard). Is
there any way to solve this problem in a simpler way without modifying
anything in the standard? (I hope my description is not too confused...)
Any suggestion is welcome.

Moreover, since I am currently using the old version of the standard
(the one described in the original grub page) I want to port my programs
to the new one. Is the standard ``stable'', or there is the possibility
that it will change in a short time? (in the second case, I will wait
for the new version)

                                Thanks again,
                                        Luca