aic7xxx driver that does not need db library?

aic7xxx driver that does not need db library?

[Adam J. Richter]

	Currently, building Justin Gibbs's otherwise excellent
aic7xxx driver requires the Berkeley DB library, because the
aic7xxx assembler that is used in the build process uses db
basically just to implement associative arrays in memory.

	Unfortunately, I'm currently wrestling with db version
problems because gnome evolution requires the GPL'ed Sleepycat db 3.x,
so I want to keep db-1.85 around also, and this breaks the aicasm
build.  I am grateful to aicasm for exposing this problem in my
Sleepycat and Berkeley db configuration, but looking at the
aicasm sources makes me think that it would be easy enough to
make aicasm not to use db, and that would be worth eliminating
one more software dependency for building the Linux kernel.  It
also occurred to me that someone else may have already done this,
so I ought to ask.

	So, has anyone done this already?  If not, I guess I'll take a
whack at it.

Adam J. Richter     __     ______________   4880 Stevens Creek Blvd, Suite 104
adam@yggdrasil.com     \ /                  San Jose, California 95129-1034
+1 408 261-6630         | g g d r a s i l   United States of America
fax +1 408 261-6631      "Free Software For The Rest Of Us."

Re: aic7xxx driver that does not need db library?

[Jeffrey W. Baker]

On Thu, 16 Aug 2001, Adam J. Richter wrote:

>
> 	Currently, building Justin Gibbs's otherwise excellent
> aic7xxx driver requires the Berkeley DB library, because the
> aic7xxx assembler that is used in the build process uses db
> basically just to implement associative arrays in memory.

You don't need berk db if you don't check "rebuild firmware" or whatever
the config option is.  I don't check it, and I never have problems.  I
believe it exists only as a convenience for the developers.

-jwb

Re: aic7xxx driver that does not need db library?

[Justin T. Gibbs]

>
>	Currently, building Justin Gibbs's otherwise excellent
>aic7xxx driver requires the Berkeley DB library, because the
>aic7xxx assembler that is used in the build process uses db
>basically just to implement associative arrays in memory.

You don't need to use the assembler.  Compiled firmware is
provided in every distrubution I've made, including the one
in the 2.4.9 kernel.  The default is to *not* build the
firmware.  Just make sure that you don't have this option
inadvertantly turned on in your config and you should be happy.

A wise CS proff once said, "Smart programmers are lazy.  They
re-use stuff rather than write it over and over again."  In this
case, I was able to implement my symbol table in all of 5 mintues
without the need to debug the code that implements its core.  It
may seem like overkill, but it allowed me to focus on the important
things, like making the assembler useful.  The assember dates from
1995, which might explain why it uses the dbv1 interface.

"If it ain't broke, don't fix it."

--
Justin

Re: aic7xxx driver that does not need db library?

[Keith Owens]

On Thu, 16 Aug 2001 09:44:26 -0700, 
"Adam J. Richter" <adam@yggdrasil.com> wrote:
>	Currently, building Justin Gibbs's otherwise excellent
>aic7xxx driver requires the Berkeley DB library, because the
>aic7xxx assembler that is used in the build process uses db
>basically just to implement associative arrays in memory.
>
>	Unfortunately, I'm currently wrestling with db version
>problems because gnome evolution requires the GPL'ed Sleepycat db 3.x,
>so I want to keep db-1.85 around also, and this breaks the aicasm
>build.

(A) Do not check "build aic7xxx firmware".

(B) kbuild 2.5 only selects the db*.h file that matches the current db
    library, instead of assuming that the first db*.h that it can find
    should be used.

(C) If the aic7xxx maintainer would let me fix the aic7xxx kbuild
    files, nobody would ever have these problems again.

Re: aic7xxx driver that does not need db library?

[Adam J. Richter]

>>  = Adam Richter
>   = Keith Owens

>>	Currently, building Justin Gibbs's otherwise excellent
>>aic7xxx driver requires the Berkeley DB library, because the
>>aic7xxx assembler that is used in the build process uses db
>>basically just to implement associative arrays in memory.
>>
>>	Unfortunately, I'm currently wrestling with db version
>>problems because gnome evolution requires the GPL'ed Sleepycat db 3.x,
>>so I want to keep db-1.85 around also, and this breaks the aicasm
>>build.

>(A) Do not check "build aic7xxx firmware".

	I want to build everything from source and I believe that is
important to other people as well.


>(B) kbuild 2.5 only selects the db*.h file that matches the current db
>    library, instead of assuming that the first db*.h that it can find
>    should be used.

	On one hand, I still prefer my solution of not needing db
at all to build the aic7xxx firmware.  I believe that compatability
problems in my db configuration is a system administration bug in the
one of the db packages or both, but I haven't fully disected it yet.

	On the other hand, what you describe sounds like an
improvement over what is in the stock kernel.  So, even though I'm not
inclined to jump to it right now, I appreciate your telling me about
it.

Adam J. Richter     __     ______________   4880 Stevens Creek Blvd, Suite 104
adam@yggdrasil.com     \ /                  San Jose, California 95129-1034
+1 408 261-6630         | g g d r a s i l   United States of America
fax +1 408 261-6631      "Free Software For The Rest Of Us."