Re: [RFC] x86 ELF bootable kernels/Linux booting Linux/LinuxBIOS

H. Peter Anvin
2002-02-04T16:27:08Z

Werner Almesberger wrote:

[...lots of good stuff...]

>
> Worse yet, the file-based interface kind of conveys the promise that
> the preloader is actually not necessary. This creates an incentive to
> keep things that way, so more and more policy will have to be added
> to the kernel, simply because externalizing it would shatter that
> cute "loader-less" image.
>

[...]

>
> So, while a file-based interface looks cool, I think a "thin"
> memory-based interface will serve us better in the long run.
>

I agree with this sentiment. As far as the filebased interface implying
it is self-contained/loaderless, we can just look at this thread as well
as Linux history -- the boot sector in a Linux kernel is basically
useless and doesn't even work on a lot of hardware today, yet people are
still refusing to deprecate it "because it's so convenient"...

-hpa