Re: [Libreboot] libreboot questions

[Michał Masłowski]

> I was going through
> http://www.fsf.org/blogs/community/welcome-to-libreplanet-2015 and
> came to know about libreboot free boot firmware.

Boot firmware is the code running on the main CPU before any code loaded
From disk (like a kernel or bootloader).  Some people call it BIOS, but
it would be a more confusing name, since BIOS is a specific interface
for operating systems that some boot firmware provides.

> Just curious to know
> is firmware written in C?

In libreboot the boot firmware consists mainly of coreboot and GRUB
which are both written mainly in C.

> and how is it different from coreboot. it
> also says free replacement for BIOS/UEFI or are coreboot and libreboot
> both same.

GRUB provides the user interface and code loading kernels, so it is a
replacement for BIOS/UEFI, while coreboot initializes the hardware and
loads GRUB.

> Libreboot is a de-blobbed version of Coreboot and i am not
> sure if i understand the meaning of de-blobbed.

libreboot is a distribution of free boot firmware and related tools, it
includes coreboot with some patches for better support for some boards
("better" for libreboot purposes, not coreboot purposes: some of these
are later replaced by different code in coreboot) and without nonfree
CPU microcode patches nor other blobs.

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