Sugguestion: separate input and output driver

Sugguestion: separate input and output driver

[Bean]

Currently, input and output are bundled together, this make it quite
difficult to extend.

Input:
Keyboard, Serial

Output:
Text mode, Video mode

Now, the binding is fixed using individual module:

Keyboard + Text = console
Keyboard + Video = gfxterm
Serial + Text = serial
Serial + Video = ?

And there are mixing as well.

If we separate them, it would make things much clear. For example, the
grub_term structure can be split into two mutually exclusive parts:

struct grub_term =
{
  .name,
  .init,
  .fini,
  .putchar,
  .getcharwidth,
  .checkkey,
  .getkey,
  .getwh,
  .getxy,
  .gotoxy,
  .cls,
  .setcolorstate,
  .setcursor,
  .flags,
  .next
};

=>

struct grub_input
{
  .name,
  .init,
  .fini,
  .checkkey,
  .getkey
  .flags,
  .next
}

+

struct grub_output
{
  .name,
  .init,
  .fini,
  .putchar,
  .getcharwidth,
  .getxy,
  .gotoxy,
  .cls,
  .setcolorstate,
  .setcursor,
  .flags,
  .next
}

Integration between input and output:

Input driver <=> console driver <=> Output driver

The console driver is the central part. It accepts virtual key from
the input driver, and write to the virtual screen provided by output
driver.

-- 
Bean

Re: Sugguestion: separate input and output driver

[Robert Millan]

On Thu, May 29, 2008 at 04:09:54PM +0800, Bean wrote:
> Currently, input and output are bundled together, this make it quite
> difficult to extend.
> 
> Input:
> Keyboard, Serial
> 
> Output:
> Text mode, Video mode
> 
> Now, the binding is fixed using individual module:
> 
> Keyboard + Text = console
> Keyboard + Video = gfxterm
> Serial + Text = serial
> Serial + Video = ?
> 
> And there are mixing as well.
> 
> If we separate them, it would make things much clear. For example, the
> grub_term structure can be split into two mutually exclusive parts:

I've been wanting to do this for a while, but never had time for it.

Other annoying situations this would solve are:

at_keyboard + ofconsole (currently done with an ifdef hack)
usb_keyboard + (vga_term | bios_console)

-- 
Robert Millan

<GPLv2> I know my rights; I want my phone call!
<DRM> What good is a phone call… if you are unable to speak?
(as seen on /.)

Re: Sugguestion: separate input and output driver

[Robert Millan]

On Thu, May 29, 2008 at 04:09:54PM +0800, Bean wrote:
> struct grub_input
> {
> }
> 
> +
> 
> struct grub_output
> {
> }

I suggest grub_term_input / grub_term_output, to avoid confusion with disk I/O.

-- 
Robert Millan

<GPLv2> I know my rights; I want my phone call!
<DRM> What good is a phone call… if you are unable to speak?
(as seen on /.)

Re: Sugguestion: separate input and output driver

[Marco Gerards]

Bean <bean123ch@gmail.com> writes:

> Currently, input and output are bundled together, this make it quite
> difficult to extend.
>
> Input:
> Keyboard, Serial
>
> Output:
> Text mode, Video mode
>
> Now, the binding is fixed using individual module:
>
> Keyboard + Text = console
> Keyboard + Video = gfxterm
> Serial + Text = serial
> Serial + Video = ?

What do you mean by text?  For the PC console, output is different
than that of the serial console.

Besides that, this seams like a good plan.  This is something we need,
but no one took the time to implement this.

--
Marco