Re: Kernels > 1M
H. Peter Anvin (hpa@transmeta.com)
Sun, 22 Aug 1999 14:52:31 -0700
Derek Wildstar wrote:
>
> On Sun, 22 Aug 1999, Zack Weinberg wrote:
>
> > > > It'd be really great if we could do this, because the zImage, bzImage,
> > > > etc. nonsense would just disappear and `vmlinux' would be bootable,
> > > > gzipped or not.
> > >
> > > It would suck... because you just invented *yet another* format
> > > incompatible with all the rest.
> >
> > I don't see why a plain ELF executable (possibly gzipped) is yet
> > another format.
>
> Seems booting an uncompressed kernel directly from the FS would be the
> sensible way to go...especially if this loader manages to get around
> the 1024-cylinder BIOS limit. Every commercial UNIX i have worked with
> has done this....I fail to see how we'd be creating an incompatible
> format? Please elaborate =)
>
> -dwild
Is it compatible with existing boot loaders? No? Then guess what that
is... INCOMPATIBLE!
Not to mention it would have to be made to work with initrd, etc; a new
boot protocol needs to be created entirely. That is not inherently a
bad idea, but incompatibility is a high price that demands a high
payoff.
-hpa
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