device drivers

[Johan Rydberg]

GNU Mach has its device drivers located in the kernel, other kernels
doesn't (I can't answer for L4, but I GUESS that it doesn't include
any drivers.)

How is this supposed to be solved?  Some  driver framework has to be
created, either within libmon or above.  This raises a number of
questions: 

 . How will the system be bootstrapped?  The bootstrapper can't load
   any drivers without a disk driver.  

 . Should the drivers be loaded with the bootstrap (as multiboot
modules)
   and be initialized by the bootstrapper ?

 . Should an existing driver "API" be used?  If that's the case, 
   what "API"?   Linux?  BSD?   (Mach?)

 . What server should control the devices?  

 . How can the device I/O interface (between client and device driver)
   be designed for maximum throughput?
 
-- 
Johan Rydberg, Net Insight AB, Sweden, +46-8-685 04 00

$ ON F$ERROR("LANGUAGE","ENGLISH","IN_MESSAGE").GT.F$ERROR("NORMAL") -
             THEN EXCUSE/OBJECT=ME