> >My question is: Is it (or rather: should it be) possible to install and
> >use a NetBSD/mac68k-current kernel without the nubus entry in the kernel
> >configuration file.
>
> I suppose but there are some reservations about such a setup.

I too have reservations.

> >The second thought is: Is the nubus entry really needed anyway? I ask this
> >question because sometimes the kernel uses a fictive "pseudo-nubus" slot
> >and its address space for e.g. internal video. The answer to this question
> >may go beyond my experiment described in the next paragraph...
> 
> Well, two things. First, even though you don't have a "nubus slot" you still
> have a portion of the physical address space set aside for use by the potential
> nubus slot. A kernel that doesn't use the nubus code should at least know
> where the nubus slots are and not try to map them in. So you'll need at
> least a little bit of code to figure out where the slots are.
> 
> Second, there may be the possibility that when I write the internal video
> drivers I might use some code from nubus.c to check the machine's
> built-in ROMs so that I can identify the type of internal video in the machine.

Third, Apple has recomended (a long time ago) that all PDS slot card
makers configure their roms to look like NuBus slots. I think the idea
was that Apple would only have to write one bit of code for scanning
for cards.

> >I have been running with this patch for the last couple of days, and it
> >does not seem to hurt anything.
> 
> You can never be sure. I think that the IIsi/IIci need that code to work
> for their internal video to work.
> 
> My question is: What's the point? The nubus.c code adds maybe 10k of extra
> code to the kernel if you're not using it. Are you that memory hungry? :)

I too wonder what's the point. If we rip out the nubus code, we loose the
ability for a kernel to run on any 68k mac.

Take care,

Bill