Ulrich Teichert wrote: > Hi, > > [del] > >> So basically you mean removing ECOFF support in binutils is not a > >> problem. Right? > > > >As I tried to explain, it will break arcload and arcboot, and probably > >some more bootloader-ish things of older machines I don't know of. > > It would also make it difficult to netboot a DECstation - the firmware > only boots ECOFF kernels. I don't know if it will break delo (the > DECstation boot loader), too.
Delo uses ELF. Netbooting a DECstation works via a t-rex generated image which fakes an ECOFF header. Very old DECstation can't boot via tftp/bootp but need MOP, in that case the t-rex image may or may not work, I don't know if anybody ever tried. > >For Debian, I'd like to have some workaround for arcboot before we > >kill ECOFF. > > Please, now that I started testing etch installs on my 5k/33, please > don't tell me that I've wasted part of my easter holiday.... Don't worry, we obsoleted ECOFF for DECstation already before sarge. :-) > >For binutils upstream, I don't want to kill it without previous > >discussion on the binutils list. > > I am not sure, but isn't ECOFF still in use by other, still supported > OSes? irix? AIX? IRIX dropped ECOFF support with the 5 -> 6 transition. AIX uses XCOFF, an incompatible format. Ultrix would still use ECOFF but is completely obsolete by now. MIPS RiscOS is already forgotten. The binutils ECOFF support is happily bitrotting for some years now, nobody cares about keeping it up. ISTR the NetBSD folks still need it for bootloader-ish things, but that would be a different config anyway. Thiemo -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact [EMAIL PROTECTED]
