Messages in this thread |  | | From | Nick Andrew <> | Subject | Re: Boot messages (Was: Re: Ideas for v2.1) (fwd) | Date | Thu, 20 Jun 1996 16:04:51 +1000 (EST) |
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Forwarding a message from Albert Cahalan <albert@ccs.neu.edu>: > Yes, you missed the point. The point is that some people do not want > to see the boot messages. By the time init is spawned the kernel has > already spewed out several pages of cryptic stuff and you might as > well start X.
Most of the talk I have read on linux-kernel recently about boot graphics is really disturbing. I don't want to see a penguin when I boot my boxes - not even a recently fed or post-coital one. I want to see boot messages - ugly, precise and informative.
However, not everybody thinks the same way. Fine. There are some suggestions - everything from modifying the MBR to lilo, to second-stage boot loaders, to running it from init.
I'd like to offer a suggestion. I don't want the kernel and underlying tools bloated with special purpose graphic code, so let's stick the penguin image in user space, where it belongs.
The next question becomes, how do we prevent the kernel from displaying the startup messages?
Since the kernel has an architected way to route kernel messages around the place (to klogd, etc.), I suggest an optional setting (which might be provided in the boot args) to the kernel to buffer all startup messages without display.
Once syslogd and friends are running they can read those messages and take appropriate action - perhaps logging to a file or a non-displayed virtual console.
Basically, preventing the messages from displaying before we are under control of init means the problem is effectively reduced to "how can we display a fullscreen image" (which I expect is solved already, but since I don't mess with non-X graphics, I wouldn't know offhand what utility to run to achieve it). We can then control this boot image with a shell script - a different image for each day of the week, or a generated image for the kernel's totem (is that Zen penguin on milk or endorphins?), or whatever.
Nick. -- Kralizec Dialup Internet System Data: +61-2-837-1183, 837-1868 Zeta Microcomputer Software Fax: +61-2-837-3753 Voice: 837-1397 P.O. Box 177, Riverstone NSW 2765 http://www.kralizec.net.au/
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