[ On Wednesday, December 29, 1999 at 14:13:13 (-0800), Bill Studenmund wrote: ]
> Subject: Re: Crosscompiling
>
> A number of ports have installboot programs which need to encode the block
> addresses of a secondary loader into the loader they install. They usually
> need the filesystem mounted to do this. They'd need to be changed to work
> with the mtool-ish paradime.

Assuming one were to write a complete set of user-level tools to
manipulate unix filesystem images for multiple target systems then the
job of writing those kinds boot-blocks into such images for those
targets that require them would be relatively easy to do.  I.e. another
function of these tools would be to take over the job of "installboot".
(i.e. rather than adjusting "installboot" to work with an un-mounted
image, though that's not a bad approach either)

BTW, How many of those types of two-stage boot systems are expected to
remain for the long term?  Or rather what are the chances that a
three-stage boot (or four-stage if necessary and if you think of it that
way) can be built for all those types of systems that don't yet have one
(assuming there are people willing and able to do the work should it be
possible and should the idea be found to be generally acceptable)?

-- 
							Greg A. Woods

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