Gentoo Archives: gentoo-user

From: Mateusz Mierzwinski <mateuszmierzwinski@××.pl>
To: gentoo-user@l.g.o
Subject: Re: [gentoo-user] Mounting /dev/sdaX on boot does not work
Date: Wed, 30 Jan 2008 23:41:05
Message-Id: 47A10B0F.8060304@o2.pl
In Reply to: Re: [gentoo-user] Mounting /dev/sdaX on boot does not work by Alan McKinnon
1 Alan McKinnon pisze:
2 > On Thursday 31 January 2008, Mateusz Mierzwinski wrote:
3 >
4 >> Talking about modularize kernel i think this is an gentoo mailing
5 >> list so every user know's his hardware - if not there is always
6 >> GOOGLE, Gentoo HowTo and Hardware Manual. Most drivers in kernel are
7 >> universal for one vendor family what makes more suitable to different
8 >> types of chipsets (revisions A, B etc...). There is also true that
9 >> maybee kernel modules are good for people with binary distro's but
10 >> Gentoo is source based distribution - thank god - and every user
11 >> should compile kernel for his hardware - modules not needed.
12 >>
13 >
14 > Rubbish. Let's say tomorrow I plug in a USB sound card, joystick and
15 > HSDPA modem. Today I do not have this hardware.
16 >
17 > Should I rebuild my kernel just to use a hotplug device that I borrowed
18 > for a few hours? No, thanks, I'm going to use modrobe.
19 >
20 > To get my sound card to work, I need a parameter "dell=m42". How should
21 > I easily pass this argument without modules? Should I have a webcam
22 > driver permanently loaded in kernel space just for the odd case where I
23 > decide to use it?
24 >
25 > 1995 called, they say they want their hardware back.
26 >
27 >
28 >> Cheap
29 >> code modules are also bad rule of cheap programmers, which don't know
30 >> system and kernel structures. Afterwords thats how making usage of
31 >> NDISWRAPPER is fundamental on Windows drivers hardware.
32 >>
33 >
34 > <sigh>
35 >
36 > If a crap programmer writes a module, it will be crap and do $BAD_STUFF.
37 > How does this change if the crap programmer is forced to not write
38 > modules? Does he suddenly get enlightened and know what K&R have been
39 > telling him for years?
40 >
41 > CRAP PROGRAMMERS WRITE CRAP CODE. MODULES ARE COMPLETELY IRRELEVANT TO
42 > THIS.
43 >
44 >
45 >
46 >> If we speak about realtime preemption model i think that You are
47 >> mistaken saying that PC and realtime kernels (software) is not good
48 >> choice. My licentiate work on University of Silesia (Poland,
49 >> Katowice) is about usage of realtime services in computer LAN/WAN
50 >> networks. I digging some materials about RTOS and realtime preemption
51 >> model, realtime schedule algorithm and realtime applications critical
52 >> points programming. I don't know if PC + Realtime preemption model is
53 >> something wrong. When You need critical services for network such as
54 >> multiplexed SDH traffic control and violation prevention You must
55 >> have great power computer with RTOS, that can monitor min. 166MB/s
56 >> traffic full duplex. Now-days computers have enough power to stand
57 >> with RISC (Reduced Instruction Set Computing) machines - thats why
58 >> Sun Solaris has arrived on PC's. Another big step is RTLinux with
59 >> dual core - realtime core and Linux kernel working together.
60 >>
61 >
62 > That type of usage is not my area of expertise, but I can tell that it's
63 > a niche market. If monolithicality is the correct design paradigm
64 > there, then the designer has the option of building a monolithic
65 > kernel. If you can coerce it to work on Intel cpus, well that's fine
66 > and dandy and attests to the power and adaptibility of Linux.
67 >
68 > But how does this support your assertion that modules are a bad idea?
69 > You have the choice to do it a better way in those circumstances.
70 > Meanwhile, the vast majority of server nd desktop deployments out there
71 > that truly do need kernel modules (including Gentoo) cna and should
72 > continue to use them.
73 >
74 >
75 >
76 You have right with that borrowed hardware or even buy it. But if You
77 have some like IDE controller on motherboard, why use all modules in
78 kernel? Maybee to turn of DMA or something. Why Realtime without
79 modules? I don't know how modules works under RTOS, if I don't know so
80 better for the world is not touch it. maybe sometimes, but now servers
81 only on monolitic kernel.
82
83 Send me email: mateuszmierzwinski@××.pl, we can talk privacy... ;)
84 --
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