Re: [9fans] Replacing 9load

[David Leimbach <leimy2k@gmail.com>]

> My comments about grub still stand.  It's great for booting
> Linux kernels, which it was designed for, and it is okay for
> chainloading to get to Plan 9.  I still think Smart Boot Manager
> is far and away the best PC multi-OS booter out there.  It looks
> at the partitions and says "here is what I found: pick one."
> No manual config.  In grub you have to boot to Linux to tell it
> about a new Plan 9 partition.  Grub is really a Linux loader
> disguised as a multiboot loader.  In that situation it works great.
> Beyond that it's just a pain.

Actually, it was meant for GNU Hurd as it loads microkernels and
modules containing drivers and other bits of a "system" into separate
address spaces.

GRUB2 works on PPC platforms as well now for the same effect.  [the
solution for L4 based systems was to build a monolithic "piggybacked"
image to achieve the multiboot effect]

I agree chainloader is a bit of a pain in the ass.  Grub has
filesystem modules and ways to do things like set VESA modes before
you boot an OS [used with House for example... written in Haskell
using the GHC runtime as OS services, yes ethernet drivers written in
Haskell.]

grub is also capable of adding netboot capabilities to old PCs that
didn't have the BIOS for it.  I used to boot an old P2 with a grub
floppy to netboot OSes on it because it had no hard disk.

Grub has a lot of value to me as a result for some of these projects. 
I've not seen another loader come along that can provide me with that
level of configuration [besides perhaps OpenFirmware on my mac....
even that needs Grub2 to do multiboot stuff though]



>
> Finally, do not believe even for a moment that Plan 9 thinks
> that all the world's a 386.  We have always had a couple other
> architectures running, and running well.  That's still true today.
> On the other hand, if you're writing a pc kernel, you're going
> to have to do some pc-specific things.

I just wish BIOS would die a quick painful death and we can move on to
something else.  OpenFirmware would have been my preference but EFI
appears to be the way for PCs.

>
> Russ
>
> ----- End forwarded message -----
>
> If I can find the irc logs I'll post them for context, but I don't think
> any of us said anything very useful.
>
> uriel
>