Udev, EFI, via 4in1, PC and mainframe architecture ?
Submitted by atang1 on Mon, 07/31/2006 - 02:34.
Mainframe server are simple architecture of cpu, memory, USB and storage device. PC architecture is more complicated, with device drivers at memory addresses below 1 mb boundary. So, as DSP and sound chipsets became ambiguous devices, udev came as a fill in for development of drivers, made of firmware and local operating system.
If monitors included video card using USB plug-in, mainframe architecture is the future. Chipsets are no longer needed. Firmware and operating system for running monitors are massively integrated in the monitor.
In contrast, both Intel(EFI) and Via(4in1) had chipsets that included programmable devices to do graphics, audio, and all other functions in north and south bridge PCI bus chipsets. Both manufacturers simplified their computer circuitry by going with software drivers for their chipsets.
The advantage is versatility in future upgrades. The disadvantage is cpu duty cycle is very high, but easily handled by realtime packets later.
Linux developers doing udev have not concentrated on these kinds of chipsets, which will dominate the low end of the computer production. High end chipset are actually simpler. You have to add many AGP or PCI bus slots. And you have to add many device specific drivers.
If you look into the future of computer design and markets, you will know how to develop udev functions?
Ambiguous devices are mere embedded systems ?
You can do anything and everything if your computer is analog and digital mixed signals. Best data compression(prml) is analog signal using repeated words for massive data compression with a huge library. To achieve it in hdd, you use a DSP and firmware and its own operating system to have 60% increase in storage density each year and every year since the biginning with PDML.
Then host modem came along with DSP or sound chipset to handle analog signals and digital packet transmission. People hated the host modems when cpus were slow. Now the duty cycle in cpu usage is less than 10%. Drivers with multi carrier frequencies can increase throughput in the future same as DSL(ethernet).
So, ambiguous devices were born. You can use DSP for any thing associated with computers and run any functions by software. It has an entrenched position in the future of computer design.
We just have to learn how to modulize the functions and use microkernels to drive them, devices. This concept is called componentization of drivers, and can be used in generic drivers to handle hardware specific needs in drivers(future of Xorg).
Data transmissin with data compression such as Prml ?
The easiest way to speed up data transmission is using the compressed data directly.
Shrinking zero(s) in ascii codes(digital bits) can get up to 200$ compression.
Repeated digital words can do 350% compression.
Graphics compression can go up to 300%
But prml and repeated analog signals can do infinite ratio of compression?
We have to watch out for the end of repeatable signals(human intelligence) when it happens?
Then there is vector graphics, using fresnel formula with a few complex numbers(4) defining complex equation for a picture. This data compression method is being developed in IBM labs Zurich for over a decade now. No one knows when it will become commercial
The future is in data compression. Everyone is working on it, but who has the ultimate compression scheme that will benefit mankind the most?
/dev is bios drivers in PC; udev is ambiguous drivers ?
In between the two sets of drivers is more advanced features of drivers that has firmware already in the devices.
When you boot into bios, the drivers are set for you. then when you boot into the operating system, you setup the more advanced video, audio and other peripherals. PNPOS in the bios help the operating system find the drivers in the operating system kernels.
But when the periperals(DSP based) lack firmware, operating system is unable to find the device or the drivers based on the PNP numbering system. That is when you need udev to get an ambiguous driver with firmware and its associated operating system for the peripherals. Linux 2.6.x has the ambiguous drivers in the /usr directory.
If you started video drivers is in the bios, you get VGA instantly. If you use xvesa in the operating kernel, you get VGA 791/792 or S3 drivers automatically. If you decided then to switch to xorg; then you have to startx again to see the change in drivers(resolution and color) in the xserver.
This is how the drivers can be changed..