Messages in this thread | | | Date | Mon, 17 Aug 1998 16:50:42 -0700 (PDT) | From | "Jon M. Taylor" <> | Subject | Re: kill -9 <pid of X> |
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On Mon, 17 Aug 1998, Bernd Harries wrote:
> Albert D. Cahalan wrote: > > > With OS protection, most junk is stable. It is much cheaper to > > use a bit of kernel memory than it is to buy proper hardware. > > So far, only one example of proper hardware has been given, > > and I can't find it at www.pricewatch.com. > > But it's less fun than to smash the crappy hardware witha big hammer.
But it is a lot more useful. I don't want to smash my old hardware. I want to use it.
> Although hardware accesses do belong into the kernel in Unixes it does > not automatically mean that the kernel HAS to fix hardware bugs.
Well, I guess, but you'd think that the extra stability would be desireable, wouldn't you? I certainly would.
> If you > want it to, write a workaround. You have the source.
I do, and I do. I just put it in the driver in the OS where it belongs. Apps should not have to worry about crap like that.
> How big shit most PC graphics cards are can be seen from the point that > they don't have a FIFO EMPTY IRQ condition... You must poll it.
The newer ones do, actually. IIRC, CL-546x chipsets can interrupt on vertical blank, FIFO empty, FIFO full, clipping violation, and accel done. Other cards have some or all of these features. None are as good as properly designed workstation hardware - they still lack a priviledged instruction set, hardware contexts, command interruptability, and the huge FIFOs that the big iron has.
Without the full set of proper features, the use that can be made out of these interrupts is a lot more limited. But even so, a lot of useful stuff can still be done, and it would be nice to be able to do so.
Jon
--- 'Cloning and the reprogramming of DNA is the first serious step in becoming one with God.' - Scientist G. Richard Seed
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