Messages in this thread | | | Subject | Re: Device Driver | Date | Mon, 16 Oct 2000 09:07:14 +0200 (MEST) | From | (Rogier Wolff) |
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Keith Owens wrote: > On Sun, 15 Oct 2000 09:57:08 -0700, > Miles Lane <miles@speakeasy.org> wrote: > >> On Mon, 16 Oct 2000 14:30:39 +1000, > >> "Mike McLeod" <michaelm@platypustechnology.com> wrote: > >> >All of the code is open except for an image file that is loaded > >> >onto the card when the driver is installed that handles it's > >> >logic. From here, how do we begin the process of getting our > >> >drivers included into the kernel? > > > >I presume your driver doesn't mind if this image is unavailable. > >If not, you'll need to provide a open source image to use in place > >of your proprietary one. > > Linus, please confirm. > > Firmware for cards can be proprietary. It can either be installed by a > userspace utility on startup (nothing to do with the kernel) or it can > be installed by the kernel driver for the card during initialization. > In the latter case, the image must be supplied in text format and > converted to binary, no binary files in the kernel tarball.
My name is not Linus, but I can confirm. The userspace utility procedure is preferred nowadays. However for say a SCSI card with a processor on the board that would be inconvenient, as people are likely to want to boot from the card.
Roger.
-- ** R.E.Wolff@BitWizard.nl ** http://www.BitWizard.nl/ ** +31-15-2137555 ** *-- BitWizard writes Linux device drivers for any device you may have! --* * Common sense is the collection of * ****** prejudices acquired by age eighteen. -- Albert Einstein ******** - To unsubscribe from this list: send the line "unsubscribe linux-kernel" in the body of a message to majordomo@vger.kernel.org Please read the FAQ at http://www.tux.org/lkml/
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