Excerpts from netbsd: 25-Feb-98 Re: Question about biosboot.. Brian
Buhrow@cats.ucsc.e (1587)
Excerpts from netbsd: 25-Feb-98 Re: Question about biosboot.. Ken
Hornstein@cmf.nrl.na (580)
Excerpts from netbsd: 25-Feb-98 Re: Question about biosboot.. David M.
S. DMS@celtech. (1570*)

[CONSDEV_XXX]

> Well, could we bring this knob out into one of the Makefiles with the
> appropriate #ifdefs?  All of the other things are.

OK, I'll think about that. It doesn't help for all cases - people might want
to switch the console later (eg add a command for this). But they have
to modify the code anyway, and what you propose makes it at least
more convenient for the average user.

> 	How hard would it be to modify the boot blocks to read a configuration
> file from the file system to allow users to switch console types without
> having to recompile them?

It's not too hard. My biggest concern is that console selection etc
are properties of a _machine_, not of a disk. You might lose if
you put the disk into another machine.
Otoh, the PC "design" doesn't leave much choice...

> Also, can the boot blocks
> tell the kernel which console to use or do I need to recompile the kernel
> for serial console support as well?

They do so per default (unless you specify "option CONS_OVERRIDE",
cf console(4)).

> one thing I would find
> usefull is the ability to switch between serial and video console is the
> abscence/precence of the keyboard

That's just another policy which meets the needs of some people
or does not, depending on the setup.
I have a lot of embedded i386 boards with onboard graphics which
usually don't have a keyboard keyboard connected, nor a serial
terminal. When needed, I connect an LCD panel + keyboard.
This wouldn't work with your keyboard check.
Because it's useful for at least some people, I'd like to offer
it an an option -- I used to have a simple piece of code for
the keyboard check, but can't find it anymore. Can you send
me yours?

btw, a simple way to switch the console is to use CONSDEV_COMx
and to disable the serial ports in the BIOS if a video console
is wanted. (if you can live without a serial port)

best regards
Matthias