June 2007 - Darwin-dev - lists.apple.com

Re: Where can I find a comprehensive manual for the openfirmware of Mac?
by Dan Shoop 30 Jun '07

30 Jun '07

site_archiver(a)lists.apple.com Delivered-To: darwin-dev(a)lists.apple.com As subject. I tried to google it but openfirmware.org pointed me back to Apple, which has not such information. AS pointed out by many others, OF has been dropped in favor of EFI. -dhan ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Dan Shoop AIM: iWiring Systems & Networks Architect http://www.ustsvs.com/ shoop(a)iwiring.net http://www.iwiring.net/ 1-714-363-1174 _______________________________________________ Do not post admin requests to the list. They will be ignored. Darwin-dev mailing list (Darwin-dev(a)lists.apple.com) Help/Unsubscribe/Update your Subscription: http://lists.apple.com/mailman/options/darwin-dev/site_archiver%40lists.app… At 4:32 PM -0700 6/24/07, Calvin (Yu-Hui) Liu wrote: If you want OF info though, Amit Singh has some great information both in his book (Mac OS X Internals) and on his web site, kernelthread.org. While not exactly a manual, it's good info nonetheless. -- This email sent to site_archiver(a)lists.apple.com

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Re: Where can I find a comprehensive manual for the openfirmware of Mac?
by Andre-John Mas 30 Jun '07

30 Jun '07

site_archiver(a)lists.apple.com Delivered-To: darwin-dev(a)lists.apple.com On 25-Jun-07, at 14:15 , Garth Cummings wrote: Just FYI it should be noted that EFI is the successor to BIOS in the PC world, and is the replacement put together by Intel. In case you are interested: http://www.intel.com/technology/efi/ Andre _______________________________________________ Do not post admin requests to the list. They will be ignored. Darwin-dev mailing list (Darwin-dev(a)lists.apple.com) Help/Unsubscribe/Update your Subscription: http://lists.apple.com/mailman/options/darwin-dev/site_archiver%40lists.app… Open Firmware is no longer used on Apple products. As part of the transition to Intel processors, recent systems use EFI to support booting. This email sent to site_archiver(a)lists.apple.com

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Re: Where can I find a comprehensive manual for the openfirmware of Mac?
by Andre-John Mas 30 Jun '07

30 Jun '07

site_archiver(a)lists.apple.com Delivered-To: darwin-dev(a)lists.apple.com On 24-Jun-07, at 19:32 , Calvin (Yu-Hui) Liu wrote: I believe these guys are working on an open source implementation of Open Firmware: http://openbios.info/Welcome_to_OpenBIOS Andre _______________________________________________ Do not post admin requests to the list. They will be ignored. Darwin-dev mailing list (Darwin-dev(a)lists.apple.com) Help/Unsubscribe/Update your Subscription: http://lists.apple.com/mailman/options/darwin-dev/site_archiver%40lists.app… As subject. I tried to google it but openfirmware.org pointed me back to Apple, which has not such information. This email sent to site_archiver(a)lists.apple.com

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Re: sysctlbyname( "hw.availcpu" ) fails
by Terry Lambert 29 Jun '07

29 Jun '07

site_archiver(a)lists.apple.com Delivered-To: darwin-dev(a)lists.apple.com -- Terry _______________________________________________ Do not post admin requests to the list. They will be ignored. Darwin-dev mailing list (Darwin-dev(a)lists.apple.com) Help/Unsubscribe/Update your Subscription: http://lists.apple.com/mailman/options/darwin-dev/site_archiver%40lists.app… On Jun 29, 2007, at 2:39 PM, Eric Schlegel wrote: On Jun 29, 2007, at 2:34 PM, Steve Checkoway wrote: Then there are other indications like <http://developer.apple.com/samplecode/CPUGestalt/index.html > which has an interesting warning. I think that's mostly because we never recommend that you use the specific CPU type to make decisions about code paths. It doesn't matter whether you're getting the cputype from Gestalt or sysctlbyname, it's still better to use CPU capabilities rather than CPU types. Specifically, certain CPU capabilities can be disabled at runtime, so your software should not assume those capabilities are present merely because you've been able to identify the CPU. My standard example of this is that it's possible to disable Altivec on PPC systems, and in so doing, test that the code will/won't run on a G3 system, to make sure you didn't make a mistake in code generation. It's also possible on Intel for specific features to be enabled/disabled on various models and steppings as a result of EFI or Platform Expert updates. This email sent to site_archiver(a)lists.apple.com

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Re: sysctlbyname( "hw.availcpu" ) fails
by Steve Checkoway 29 Jun '07

29 Jun '07

site_archiver(a)lists.apple.com Delivered-To: darwin-dev(a)lists.apple.com On Jun 29, 2007, at 2:39 PM, Eric Schlegel wrote: On Jun 29, 2007, at 2:34 PM, Steve Checkoway wrote: Thanks for all of the help, everyone. -- Steve Checkoway _______________________________________________ Do not post admin requests to the list. They will be ignored. Darwin-dev mailing list (Darwin-dev(a)lists.apple.com) Help/Unsubscribe/Update your Subscription: http://lists.apple.com/mailman/options/darwin-dev/site_archiver%40lists.app… Is Gestalt failing to give you the info you need in some way? No, not at all. I thought that using Gestalt was discouraged in some way. Not as far as I know. It's still fully supported and will be available in 64-bit Leopard too. If what you have is already working, I think you should just continue to use it. The old, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" adage, I see. Well, as long as it's going to continue to be around for a while, I guess I won't change anything. (I did have to start getting the OS version using 3 calls since 10.4.10 was being returned [as per the documentation] as 10.4.9.) This email sent to site_archiver(a)lists.apple.com

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Re: sysctlbyname( "hw.availcpu" ) fails
by Eric Schlegel 29 Jun '07

29 Jun '07

site_archiver(a)lists.apple.com Delivered-To: darwin-dev(a)lists.apple.com On Jun 29, 2007, at 2:34 PM, Steve Checkoway wrote: -eric _______________________________________________ Do not post admin requests to the list. They will be ignored. Darwin-dev mailing list (Darwin-dev(a)lists.apple.com) Help/Unsubscribe/Update your Subscription: http://lists.apple.com/mailman/options/darwin-dev/site_archiver%40lists.app… Is Gestalt failing to give you the info you need in some way? No, not at all. I thought that using Gestalt was discouraged in some way. Not as far as I know. It's still fully supported and will be available in 64-bit Leopard too. If what you have is already working, I think you should just continue to use it. Parts of it have been deprecated such as NewGestalt and ReplaceGestalt. That is true; those particular APIs were rarely used and didn't really make sense to continue recommending. Then there are other indications like <http://developer.apple.com/samplecode/CPUGestalt/index.html > which has an interesting warning. I think that's mostly because we never recommend that you use the specific CPU type to make decisions about code paths. It doesn't matter whether you're getting the cputype from Gestalt or sysctlbyname, it's still better to use CPU capabilities rather than CPU types. This email sent to site_archiver(a)lists.apple.com

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Re: sysctlbyname( "hw.availcpu" ) fails
by Steve Checkoway 29 Jun '07

29 Jun '07

site_archiver(a)lists.apple.com Delivered-To: darwin-dev(a)lists.apple.com On Jun 29, 2007, at 10:27 AM, Eric Schlegel wrote: On Jun 29, 2007, at 1:33 AM, Steve Checkoway wrote: -- Steve Checkoway _______________________________________________ Do not post admin requests to the list. They will be ignored. Darwin-dev mailing list (Darwin-dev(a)lists.apple.com) Help/Unsubscribe/Update your Subscription: http://lists.apple.com/mailman/options/darwin-dev/site_archiver%40lists.app… That's more time than I'd care to take on start up. I appreciate the suggestions though. I've been using Gestalt and figured I should maybe move to some newer interface. Is Gestalt failing to give you the info you need in some way? No, not at all. I thought that using Gestalt was discouraged in some way. Parts of it have been deprecated such as NewGestalt and ReplaceGestalt. Then there are other indications like <http://developer.apple.com/samplecode/CPUGestalt/index.html > which has an interesting warning. This email sent to site_archiver(a)lists.apple.com

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Re: sysctlbyname( "hw.availcpu" ) fails
by Eric Schlegel 29 Jun '07

29 Jun '07

site_archiver(a)lists.apple.com Delivered-To: darwin-dev(a)lists.apple.com On Jun 29, 2007, at 1:33 AM, Steve Checkoway wrote: Is Gestalt failing to give you the info you need in some way? -eric _______________________________________________ Do not post admin requests to the list. They will be ignored. Darwin-dev mailing list (Darwin-dev(a)lists.apple.com) Help/Unsubscribe/Update your Subscription: http://lists.apple.com/mailman/options/darwin-dev/site_archiver%40lists.app… That's more time than I'd care to take on start up. I appreciate the suggestions though. I've been using Gestalt and figured I should maybe move to some newer interface. This email sent to site_archiver(a)lists.apple.com

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Re: sysctlbyname( "hw.availcpu" ) fails
by Michael Smith 29 Jun '07

29 Jun '07

site_archiver(a)lists.apple.com Delivered-To: darwin-dev(a)lists.apple.com On Jun 29, 2007, at 1:33 AM, Steve Checkoway wrote: $ time system_profiler > /dev/null real 0m4.025s user 0m0.753s sys 0m0.639s You can ask it for less (to a degree, at any rate). = Mike _______________________________________________ Do not post admin requests to the list. They will be ignored. Darwin-dev mailing list (Darwin-dev(a)lists.apple.com) Help/Unsubscribe/Update your Subscription: http://lists.apple.com/mailman/options/darwin-dev/site_archiver%40lists.app… Oh yes, that would be far more than I'd ever want to know and possibly more than they'd care to send me. The model of the processor, the number of them, their speed, the version of the OS and the amount of RAM they have installed is about all I was really looking for. Plus, That's more time than I'd care to take on start up. I appreciate the suggestions though. I've been using Gestalt and figured I should maybe move to some newer interface. But I understand your concern about sniffing more than the customer would be comfortable telling you. This email sent to site_archiver(a)lists.apple.com

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Re: sysctlbyname( "hw.availcpu" ) fails
by Steve Checkoway 29 Jun '07

29 Jun '07

site_archiver(a)lists.apple.com Delivered-To: darwin-dev(a)lists.apple.com On Jun 29, 2007, at 1:17 AM, Michael Smith wrote: Thank you both for the information. As I mentioned in my first email, I'm actually doing anything with this information, I just like to see what people are running when I get crash reports. Heh, yes. I am _not_ actually doing anything with it. $ time system_profiler > /dev/null real 0m4.025s user 0m0.753s sys 0m0.639s -- Steve Checkoway _______________________________________________ Do not post admin requests to the list. They will be ignored. Darwin-dev mailing list (Darwin-dev(a)lists.apple.com) Help/Unsubscribe/Update your Subscription: http://lists.apple.com/mailman/options/darwin-dev/site_archiver%40lists.app… On Jun 28, 2007, at 12:04 PM, darwin-dev-request(a)lists.apple.com wrote: I assume you mean "not actually doing anything"? If you're really looking for a broad swath of information, I would encourage you to consider invoking system_profiler(8), and ioreg(8). The combination of these two will tell you far more than you ever wanted to know about your customers' systems. Oh yes, that would be far more than I'd ever want to know and possibly more than they'd care to send me. The model of the processor, the number of them, their speed, the version of the OS and the amount of RAM they have installed is about all I was really looking for. Plus, That's more time than I'd care to take on start up. I appreciate the suggestions though. I've been using Gestalt and figured I should maybe move to some newer interface. This email sent to site_archiver(a)lists.apple.com

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