Re: Generic Kernel API

On Wed, 9 Nov 2005 15:39:20 +0600
Max Khon <fjoe_at_samodelkin.net> wrote:

> Hi!
> 
> On Tue, Nov 08, 2005 at 11:28:55PM +0000, Marcin Jessa wrote:
>  
> > I just came across an article of Mr. Greg Kroah-Hartman in his blog
> > http://www.kroah.com/log/2005/11/03/ 
> > about generic kernel API which could make it possible for hardware
> > vendors to supply us with their own drivers.
> > To be honest I disagree with Greg and consider this a good idea.
> > Especially if we had a system which could isolate each device driver
> > running as a separate user-mode process so it would not bring down
> > the entire OS in case the driver was buggy. 
> > An API like that would both boost up FreeBSD's popularity and make
> > it possible to use a way larger variety of hardware. 
> > I mean, lets not fool ourselves, the majority of hardware vendors is
> > not interested in revealing of their secrets publishing freely
> > avaliable documentation of their products. 
> > We could have a new choice to use (or not) binary drivers the 
> > same way the popular commercial O.Ss do. 
> > What do you guys think? What is the view of the
> > FreeBSD community on this metter? 
> > Could this be concerned as a good idea ?
> 
> You can extend ndisulator so that it is possible to use other kinds of
> win32 drivers under FreeBSD.

Sure, but the point is to use native FreeBSD drivers, even if they were
in closed source binary form and not drivers written for an entirely
different O.S.

Marcin