*BSD News Article 12738


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From: joerg@sax.sax.de (Joerg Wunsch)
Newsgroups: comp.os.386bsd.development
Subject: Re: Some ideas on the driver interface (was: Re: Release of drivers etc.)
Date: 12 Mar 1993 21:25:20 +0100
Organization: SaxNet, Dresden, Germany
Lines: 26
Message-ID: <1nqrjg$m2v@sax.sax.de>
References: <0bcN02Do3ab301@JUTS.ccc.amdahl.com> <1nofv5$rll@walt.ee.pdx.edu>
NNTP-Posting-Host: sax.sax.de

In article <1nofv5$rll@walt.ee.pdx.edu> rgrimes@acacia (Rodney W. Grimes) writes:
>My real feelings on this is that
>the current implementaion is workable as long as we can coordinate additions
>to conf.c, Jordan is now assigning slots so the issue of stepping on each
>other is less likely..

In fact, i feel it's bad practice to hard-assign table slots (few minor
exceptions). Peter da Silva has been announcing a mailing list here
(bsd-config@taronga.com), where we've been discussing some of the issues
on this. (Sorry, my wire to Netnews is worse than to email...)
The way to achieve a flexible configuration might be done by a new
config(8) syntax (so we're able to throw away the old Vaxen things we
don't need anymore), allowing multiple kernels to configed, and finally
one of them to installed.

Btw., our Data General machines blow off the *whole* /dev subtree on
*each* bootup, then the drivers claim their device nodes after success-
fully detecting the devices. (Won't work on current BSD, since root fs
is r/o during boot phase, and i really like this idea.)

	- J"org
-- 
J"org Wunsch, ham: dl8dtl    : joerg_wunsch@uriah.sax.de
If anything can go wrong...  :   ...or:
     .o .o                   : joerg@sax.de,wutcd@hadrian.hrz.tu-chemnitz.de,
       <_      ... IT WILL!  : joerg_wunsch@tcd-dresden.de