From mboxrd@z Thu Jan  1 00:00:00 1970
Received: from mailman by lists.gnu.org with tmda-scanned (Exim 4.43)
	id 1MHCw6-0001Ye-Au
	for qemu-devel@nongnu.org; Thu, 18 Jun 2009 04:25:30 -0400
Received: from exim by lists.gnu.org with spam-scanned (Exim 4.43)
	id 1MHCw1-0001Oq-3i
	for qemu-devel@nongnu.org; Thu, 18 Jun 2009 04:25:29 -0400
Received: from [199.232.76.173] (port=46168 helo=monty-python.gnu.org)
	by lists.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.43) id 1MHCw0-0001OV-OC
	for qemu-devel@nongnu.org; Thu, 18 Jun 2009 04:25:24 -0400
Received: from smtp4-g21.free.fr ([212.27.42.4]:46431)
	by monty-python.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.60)
	(envelope-from <revol@free.fr>) id 1MHCw0-0003Pz-0C
	for qemu-devel@nongnu.org; Thu, 18 Jun 2009 04:25:24 -0400
In-Reply-To: <4A392EFE.70000@codemonkey.ws>
Subject: Re: [Qemu-devel] [PATCH 0/4] Add multiboot support (x86) v2
From: "=?utf-8?q?Fran=C3=A7ois?= Revol" <revol@free.fr>
Date: Thu, 18 Jun 2009 10:25:12 +0200 CEST
Message-Id: <1971664413-BeMail@laptop>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
List-Id: qemu-devel.nongnu.org
List-Unsubscribe: <http://lists.nongnu.org/mailman/listinfo/qemu-devel>,
	<mailto:qemu-devel-request@nongnu.org?subject=unsubscribe>
List-Archive: <http://lists.gnu.org/pipermail/qemu-devel>
List-Post: <mailto:qemu-devel@nongnu.org>
List-Help: <mailto:qemu-devel-request@nongnu.org?subject=help>
List-Subscribe: <http://lists.nongnu.org/mailman/listinfo/qemu-devel>,
	<mailto:qemu-devel-request@nongnu.org?subject=subscribe>
To: Anthony Liguori <anthony@codemonkey.ws>
Cc: kwolf@redhat.com, rene@exactcode.de, agraf@suse.de, qemu-devel@nongnu.org

> Fran=C3=A7ois Revol wrote:
> >> This patch implements support for Multiboot on x86 for -kernel.
> >> Multiboot is a "new" approach to get rid of different bootloaders, 
> >> providing
> >> a unified interface for the kernel. It supports command line 
> > > options 
> >> and
> >> kernel modules.
> >>
> >> The two probably best known projects using multiboot are Xen and 
> > > GNU 
> >> Hurd.
> >>     
> >
> > While Haiku doesn't use it (yet, but it will probably never be able 
> > to 
> > load without a BIOS except with the gzipped kernel trick used on a 
> > floppy image for CD booting), it'd be nice to have the -append 
> > option 
> > args forwarded by the BIOS so one could still use -append 
> > regardless 
> > the boot method used to pass options to the OS, in which case I'd 
> > add 
> > support for them in the Haiku loader.
> >   
> 
> How can the BIOS pass such information=3F
> 
> The BIOS boot specification doesn't have any notion of command line 
> AFAIK.

Indeed, at least not the PC BIOS.
OF has the concept OTH... and QEMU does pass it through IIRC, and Haiku 
should be able to get it AFAIR.

The idea would be to have it pass it anyway through a multiboot frame.
It would them behave just as if the OS was booted by grub and args had 
been typed at boot time, as well as select the boot resolution.
It would be useful for the free live OS Zoo or 
http://dev.haiku-os.org/browser/haiku/trunk/3rdparty/mmu=5Fman/onlinedemo/haiku.php
for ex.

This would allow passing boot args to OSes to automate yet not having 
to fake a vmlinuz to load them with -kernel.

Fran=C3=A7ois.