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

H. Peter Anvin
2002-01-31T04:41:53Z

Eric W. Biederman wrote:

>
> I am reluctant to go with a bootimg like interface because having a
> standard format encourages people to standardize. Though a good
> argument can persuade me. I don't loose any flexibility in comparison
> to bootimg because composing files on the fly is not significantly
> harder than composing a bootable image in ram.
>
> Please tell me if I haven't clearly answered your concerns about
> being locked into a single image.
>

I have to think about it. I'm not convinced that this particular
flavour of standardization is a step in the right direction -- in fact,
it is *guaranteed* to provide significant additional complexity for
bootloaders, and bzImage support is still going to have to be provided
for the forseeable future. Since you express that it will basically be
necessary to stitch the ELF file together on the fly I don't see much
point, quite frankly; it seems like extra complexity for no good reason.

-hpa