Re: SEUL: Auto-detecting hardware

[Erik Walthinsen <omega@aracnet.com>]

> I do think we need auto-detection hardware.  It probably will be the most
> technically complex software SEUL will have to develop, and will have to
> be VERY carefully written AND extensively tested, because even properly
> written auto-detection s/w can crash many systems... Probably we should
> map out which auto-detection algorythms crash what boards; and detect for
> the boards that will crash other auto-detections first...

How is autodetection all that hard?  Maybe I missed something, but I thought 
most of the drivers in the kernel could autoprobe quite cleanly.  Admittedly, 
there are a few that can cause bad things if done in the wrong order, and 
many can't detect multiple cards of the same driver (i.e. eth0, eth1, etc.), 
but it's all there and it really only takes probing things during the install.

There are other things that are harder to probe for, including printers, 
monitors, and various PPA devices.  Except for the PPA stuff (which I know 
<nothing about, btw), this stuff can't be determined automatically anyway, so 
it's a moot point.


> BTW.. of course the auto-detection program will HAVE TO run as 'root' because
> it will have to bypass all the kernel's h/w protection etc.

Since the installer will run as root, that's not a problem.  But if we are 
going to do what Doze95 does and autodetect new hardware as it's installed, 
we can simply put it in the boot process.  Simply hijack the X screen from 
XDM long enough to show the information and ask questions (only if 
*absolutely* necessary), then return it to XDM for normal operations.

TTYAL,
     Omega

        Erik Walthinsen - Programmer, webmaster, 3D artist, etc.   __
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