Re: [PATCH RFC v3 2/2] m68k/q40: add data_swab option for pata_falcon to byte-swap disk data

Michael Schmitz
2023-08-17T19:08:26Z

Hi Richard,

On 17/08/23 22:27, Richard Z wrote:
> Nitpicking now, there is nothing classic about little endian as all
> older computers were either big or mid endian.

Right, but IDE was introduced on little endian hardware.

Maybe 'IDE default byte order' would be more exact here.

> It is rather some rare ide host adapters like the Q40 one reversed the
> byte order of 16bit words which was cheap and convenient in the
> 1980-9ies but not interoperable with the large majority of other host
> adapters resulting in a reversed byte/16bit order on disk.

True - installing an IDE disk from e.g. Atari on a Mac, Amiga or PC
wasn't something you'd have antcipated at that time. Floppy disks were
for data interchange.

Cheers,

Michael

>
> Richard