[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
Linux has been ported to many CPUs beyond x86 like ARMs.
Does Linux ARM have good driver support? Can they
Sure. There are lots of drivers that work with ARM.
use all driver work done for x86??
Not *all* -- but much of it will compile and work. The kernel is really
split into two parts: the architecture-specific parts, and the
architecture-independent parts. The architecture-specific parts are
low-level things, like how to talk to the system ROM or PMMU, the
console code, whether it be a text console like in x86/Alpha or a
framebuffer console as in SPARC, serial console as in embedded systems,
etc. The architecture-independent parts consist of PCI, device drivers,
and that kind of stuff. Problem is, most people write with x86 in mind,
so a lot of the drivers that work on x86 may not work on other
architectures because the dingbat who wrote it always assumed a
little-endian, MMIO architecture (which may not be available on platform X).
By the way...do the same cheapo addons at Fry's also
work on an ARM based laptop that work on x86 mobos?
You've seen ARM-based laptops? Nice. Where can I get one?
For the most part, yes, the hardware should work. However, the software
may not.
Some hardware which requires special "boot roms" like SCSI adapters, for
instance, actually have ROM extensions that are executed by the CPU
after the initial BIOS is run. Devices like this will have limited
functionality (ie not being able to boot from such a SCSI controller),
but should still work fine once the kernel loads (*IF* the driver
compiles cleanly).
So, the answer to your question is both yes and no -- if you decide to
pick up an ARM box, lemme know. I wanna play with it :)
cheers.
-kelsey
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