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SubjectRe: Device Driver
Date
From
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 ********
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