Date: Tue, 7 Jul 1998 18:20:18 +0000 (GMT) From: Terry Lambert <tlambert@primenet.com> To: lile@stdio.com (Larry S. Lile) Cc: tlambert@primenet.com, sbabkin@dcn.att.com, hackers@FreeBSD.ORG Subject: Re: Object library formats Message-ID: <199807071820.LAA18878@usr01.primenet.com> In-Reply-To: <Pine.SUN.3.91.980707093325.18086A-100000@heathers2.stdio.com> from "Larry S. Lile" at Jul 7, 98 09:54:51 am
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> > 1) Once you link a kernel to it, can you distribute the kernel, > > or does everyone who wants to use it have to link it as well. [ ... ] > As far as everyone linking it, I though once a library had been included > into the kernel anyone who wanted to call a function from it just needed > it header? Maybe I have misunderstood your question. The potential problem is that of ownership of the library. They may not want to cede publication rights to it by allowing you to distribute it, preferring to enforce a license that prohibits reverse engineering. > > 2) Is the object file redistributable, in ELF or in COFF->a,out > > form, such that someone with a stallion board an a token ring > > card can use a driver that depends on the library. > > Is there any conversion process between COFF and the libraries that > FreeBSD currently uses? I have always been able to recompile libraries > on the native os, so I don't know much about this. No, but very old versions of the GNU binutils allowed conversion from COFF to FreeBSD ELF. Writing the code to do this is not hard, just a bit tedious (as another poster pointed out). > Anyway, I assume it is redistributable, most things is ddks are, but > I can't find anything in the kit that says yes or no. When I get > a driver written I will have to call them and verify that I can pass > along their object code, or if everybody who wants it will have to > go to their website and get it. As long as it's available for relink (my second question), then it's less of an issue. You may want to contact John Polstra and John Birrell, and see how they are coming on an ELF snapshot system; then you could use the ELF code without conversion. Terry Lambert terry@lambert.org --- Any opinions in this posting are my own and not those of my present or previous employers. To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe freebsd-hackers" in the body of the message
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