[U-Boot-Users] fwd: [[email protected]: A call for boot loader IDs]

Hi,

Wolfgang, should we provide an ID for U-Boot?

Robert

----- Forwarded message from "H. Peter Anvin" <[email protected]> -----

To: linux-kernel at vger.kernel.org
From: "H. Peter Anvin" <[email protected]>
Subject: A call for boot loader IDs
Date: 5 Dec 2003 08:38:13 -0800
Message-ID: <[email protected]>

Hi all,

So far only a small number of boot loaders have actually officially registered their IDs, this is the list that I have:

type_of_loader:
If your boot loader has an assigned id (see table below), enter 0xTV here, where T is an identifier for the boot loader and V is a version number. Otherwise, enter 0xFF here.

Assigned boot loader ids:
0 LILO
1 Loadlin
2 bootsect-loader
3 SYSLINUX
4 EtherBoot
5 ELILO

Please contact <[email protected]> if you need a bootloader ID value assigned.

I would really appreciate if other boot loaders -- especially GRUB, which is widely used -- would let me know (a) what they are currently doing, and (b) whether or not they need an official allocation. It's probably unwise to not do so, at least for the ones which have a significant user community.

The purpose of this ID is so we can work around individual boot loader issues if we should have a need to adjust or change the boot protocol. Not reporting a unique ID makes this impossible.

-hpa

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Hi,

I have to admit that I don't understand why such a registration is useful, but anyway...

What exactly is "type_of_loader" and where does it play a role? We never ran over it before...

Please assign a bootloader ID for U-Boot, the "universal bootloader".

(a) U-Boot supports PowerPC, ARM, MIPS, NIOS, and x86 systems. The

    "official"  source  tree (http://sourceforge.net/projects/u-boot)
    has standard configurations for more than  160  boards  (PowerPC:
    MPC5xx,  MPC8xx, MPC5xxx, MPC824x, MPC826x, MPC85xx, PPC4xx, 7xx,
    74xx; StrongARM; ARM7;  ARM9;  Xscale;  MIPS  4kc,  5kc,  au1x00;
    i486).

(b) I have no idea if we need a bootloader ID value assigned; please decide yourself.

Please explain what you mean by "adjust or change the boot protocol". Sorry if I'm asking stupid questions, but all of this sounds a bit x86-centric to me, while U-Boot is mostly dealing with other architectures where things are more straight-forward than on x86.

Best regards,

Wolfgang Denk

Software Engineering:  Embedded and Realtime Systems,  Embedded Linux
Phone: (+49)-8142-4596-87  Fax: (+49)-8142-4596-88  Email: wd at denx.de
       There is enough for the need of everyone in this world,
       but not for the greed of everyone.     - Mahatma Gandhi

Well, of course it is, since we're dealing with the x86 boot protocol.

The purpose of the registration is so we can deal with issues specific to one boot loader if they crop up.

-hpa

Sorry, but this was not clear from the subject or message.

So will you assign an ID for U-Boot?

Best regards,

Wolfgang Denk

Software Engineering:  Embedded and Realtime Systems,  Embedded Linux
Phone: (+49)-8142-4596-87  Fax: (+49)-8142-4596-88  Email: wd at denx.de
When a program is being  tested,  it  is  too  late  to  make  design
changes.                  -- Geoffrey James, "The Tao of Programming"

I will... I'm hanging on for a few weeks to see if there are any "unofficial" IDs being used, e.g. by GRUB, but then I will.

-hpa