[Debootloaders-miboot] current status of miBoot

[Aurélien GÉRÔME]

On Wed, Jul 26, 2006 at 11:41:41PM +0100, Piotras wrote:
> I've send the boot block specification to debootloaders-miboot.
> It includes link to Apple documentation. You will need to find proper
> APIs to implement functionality described in the specification.
> There is also some info on assembly ABI in the Apple doc.

I will start with EMILE bootblock. :)

> For development and testing you could try Mac-on-Linux in OldWorld
> mode. You would need to own a compatible machine [1] to legally get
> MacOS ROM from it. I've got my PowerMacintosh 8500 from a friend who
> didn't need it anymore.

There is no need as I have a 7600 and Ludovic (subscribed to that ML)
has a Beige G3, but thanks anyway.

> Another option is to switch to miBoot-1.0a3-ek in the future.

If you can import both version, it would allow us to diff them from
the start. Nevertheless, yes, let's use BenH's version first.

> This is not related to Linux kernel loader. Two of miBoot modules
> are compiled to PEF format to facilitate loading then on run-time
> by Apple dynamic loader.

OK, so the PEF format is expected by the MacOSROM. Well, maybe we
do not need to worry about patents on that and lay behind that minor
issue...

> The problem with using this attribute for miBoot is that it triggers
> some problems with binutils for my target (powerpc-ibm-aix4.1).

Thanks for the explaination. May I ask why you are using that
toolchain? Are MacOS binaries the same as AIX 4.1 ones?

> I could think of adding work-around to miBoot sources (some magic
> __asm__ __volatile__). The other options are patching single line in
> GCC or fixing binutils:-(

Well, patching binutils, for once, will be possible, because we will
make an architecture "all" upload to Debian. Hence, it is never
auto-built and we can use whatever build-dependencies we want,
providing we explain what we used and that it was DFSG-compliant.

Therefore, we will have 2 build-dependencies at least:
 * one on a m68k toolchain for the first stage (bootblock);
 * another on a powerpc toolchain for the second stage (miBoot itself).

Do you know *when* the transition between the 2 architectures takes
place? It is when the first stage jumps to the second stage?

Cheers,
-- 
 .''`.   Aurélien GÉRÔME
: :'  :  
`. `'`   Free Software Developer
  `-     Unix Sys & Net Admin
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