Re: GNU Mach glue code update

[Thomas Schwinge]

Hello!

On Sun, Jul 16, 2006 at 06:49:23PM +0200, Richard Braun wrote:
> As a first step to implementing the sound system, it looks almost
> necessary to update the glue code.

Yes, that'll be needed as soon as you want to integrate most device
drivers that are newer than Linux 2.0's.  A few newer ones provide
backwards compatibility, most notably the Donald Becker NIC drivers we're
using and the PCMCIA drivers Stefan Siegl has been working on, but that's
about it, as far as I know.


> First, I'd like to know if anyone has begun this work or intends to do
> it.

Not as far as I know.


> Second, and if noone has worked on this yet, what are the main steps
> and files to alter in the gnumach-1-branch source tree to achieve this
> goal ?

Basically the complete i386/linux/ and linux/ directories and some bits
like calling interrupt handlers, memory management, etc. which are
scattered over the GNU Mach sources.

Possibilities are a) updating the current glue code to a newer Linux
version, which will probably lead to rewriting most of it nevertheless or
b) just going ahead and write new glue code, be it again for Linux or --
for example -- some BSD, which I favor, mostly for unknown reasons.  ;-)

Using an approach (which was presented at last year's RMLL) like
<http://l4ka.org/publications/paper.php?docid=1208> ``Unmodified Device
Driver Reuse and Improved System Dependability via Virtual Machines'' --
although being very interesting -- is most probably not feasible within
Mach's environment, I guess.


Regards,
 Thomas