Re: Linux Jobs as of 2.3.99pre6-5

Jeff Garzik (jgarzik@mandrakesoft.com)
Tue, 25 Apr 2000 12:12:38 -0400

Alan Cox wrote:
>
> > > I don't think the kernel needs anything other than MODULE_DEVICE_TABLE?
> >
> > perhaps he meant making sure all drivers actually use it - and that *is* a
> > kernel work..
>
> Tables for doing almost all of it from user space entirely exist. You can
> take the tables from the RH installer for part of it (and probably suse
> installer is similar here)

The installer guys complain that such tables are forever out of sync
with the kernel, especially since drivers (pre 2.4) do PCI probing a
thousand different ways. For example cpqarray did its PCI probing by
cutting-n-pasting the same PCI probe and setup code four times.
Donald's net drivers have their own way of doing PCI probing too,
different from everyone else.

Now that we have a standard PCI probe method, which requires a PCI id
table anyway, it makes sense to export that info to userspace to avoid
duplicated info, and sync problems. If the kernel didn't already
require PCI id info, I would agree with you..

AFAIK Keith will be yanking the PCI probe table from modules at depmod
time, and writing that info to a file, for installers and PCMCIA
packages to pick up. Seems sane to me...

Jeff

-- 
Jeff Garzik              | Nothing cures insomnia like the
Building 1024            | realization that it's time to get up.
MandrakeSoft, Inc.       |        -- random fortune


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