By: rwessel (robertwessel.delete@this.yahoo.com), May 16, 2006 10:23 am
Room: Moderated Discussions
Rob Thorpe (robert.thorpe@antenova.com) on 5/16/06 wrote:
---------------------------
>You could do something like this:
>
>* Have a kernel containing the most essential things, scheduler, start-up etc.
>* Have a small compiler hooked to the kernel capable of compiling from some simple
>intermediate language into machine code. (Maybe it need not be in the kernel)
>* Have less core things, like device drivers, and file systems held in intermediate code.
>
>When a sub-system is needed it is compiled. To compile it there is a function something like
>
>compiler (code_block, allowable_mem_accesses, allowable_io, etc);
>
>I.e. the compiler takes as argument what memory and IO the code is permitted to
>access. It then compiles the code with those limits. Anything it statically verifies
>are inside the limits is compiled directly, for anything it can't it inserts checks.
>
>The compilation could be done for device drivers etc when their memory spaces are
>known. Which may be boot time or build time or some other time later.
>
>
>This seems a complex way to go about the problem, the compiler would have to be
>good. But there again most kernels are fairly complex anyway.
I can see it now... Device drivers written in Java... ;-)
But seriously, that seems like overkill. Any trustworthy compiler for a type-safe language will do the trick. They just have to accept (well typed) pointers to the objects they reference. And I/O ports are mostly ignorable - since essentially nothing that's performance critical uses them, you can provide access though an (checked) API (at least on platforms that actually support I/O port instructions - implementations that fake PCI ports with memory mappings are obviously in the original scenario).
---------------------------
>You could do something like this:
>
>* Have a kernel containing the most essential things, scheduler, start-up etc.
>* Have a small compiler hooked to the kernel capable of compiling from some simple
>intermediate language into machine code. (Maybe it need not be in the kernel)
>* Have less core things, like device drivers, and file systems held in intermediate code.
>
>When a sub-system is needed it is compiled. To compile it there is a function something like
>
>compiler (code_block, allowable_mem_accesses, allowable_io, etc);
>
>I.e. the compiler takes as argument what memory and IO the code is permitted to
>access. It then compiles the code with those limits. Anything it statically verifies
>are inside the limits is compiled directly, for anything it can't it inserts checks.
>
>The compilation could be done for device drivers etc when their memory spaces are
>known. Which may be boot time or build time or some other time later.
>
>
>This seems a complex way to go about the problem, the compiler would have to be
>good. But there again most kernels are fairly complex anyway.
I can see it now... Device drivers written in Java... ;-)
But seriously, that seems like overkill. Any trustworthy compiler for a type-safe language will do the trick. They just have to accept (well typed) pointers to the objects they reference. And I/O ports are mostly ignorable - since essentially nothing that's performance critical uses them, you can provide access though an (checked) API (at least on platforms that actually support I/O port instructions - implementations that fake PCI ports with memory mappings are obviously in the original scenario).
Topic | Posted By | Date |
---|---|---|
Hybrid (micro)kernels | Tzvetan Mikov | 2006/05/08 03:41 PM |
Hybrid (micro)kernels | S. Rao | 2006/05/08 05:14 PM |
Hybrid (micro)kernels | Bill Todd | 2006/05/08 05:16 PM |
Hybrid (micro)kernels | Tzvetan Mikov | 2006/05/08 06:21 PM |
Hybrid (micro)kernels | nick | 2006/05/08 06:50 PM |
Hybrid (micro)kernels | Bill Todd | 2006/05/09 12:26 AM |
There aren't enough words... | Rob Thorpe | 2006/05/09 01:39 AM |
There aren't enough words... | Tzvetan Mikov | 2006/05/09 02:10 PM |
There aren't enough words... | Rob Thorpe | 2006/05/14 11:25 PM |
Hybrid (micro)kernels | Tzvetan Mikov | 2006/05/09 10:17 AM |
Hybrid (micro)kernels | Bill Todd | 2006/05/09 03:05 PM |
Hybrid (micro)kernels | rwessel | 2006/05/08 10:23 PM |
Hybrid kernel, not NT | Richard Urich | 2006/05/09 05:03 AM |
Hybrid kernel, not NT | _Arthur | 2006/05/09 06:06 AM |
Hybrid kernel, not NT | Rob Thorpe | 2006/05/09 06:40 AM |
Hybrid kernel, not NT | _Arthur | 2006/05/09 07:30 AM |
Hybrid kernel, not NT | Rob Thorpe | 2006/05/09 08:07 AM |
Hybrid kernel, not NT | _Arthur | 2006/05/09 08:36 AM |
Linux vs MacOSX peformance, debunked | _Arthur | 2006/05/18 06:30 AM |
Linux vs MacOSX peformance, debunked | Rob Thorpe | 2006/05/18 07:19 AM |
Linux vs MacOSX peformance, debunked | Anonymous | 2006/05/18 11:31 AM |
Hybrid kernel, not NT | Linus Torvalds | 2006/05/09 07:16 AM |
Hybrid kernel, not NT | Andi Kleen | 2006/05/09 01:32 PM |
Hybrid kernel, not NT | myself | 2006/05/09 02:24 PM |
Hybrid kernel, not NT | myself | 2006/05/09 02:41 PM |
Hybrid kernel, not NT | Brendan | 2006/05/09 04:26 PM |
Hybrid kernel, not NT | Linus Torvalds | 2006/05/09 07:06 PM |
Hybrid kernel, not NT | Brendan | 2006/05/13 12:35 AM |
Hybrid kernel, not NT | nick | 2006/05/13 03:40 AM |
Hybrid kernel, not NT | Brendan | 2006/05/13 08:48 AM |
Hybrid kernel, not NT | nick | 2006/05/13 06:41 PM |
Hybrid kernel, not NT | Brendan | 2006/05/13 08:51 PM |
Hybrid kernel, not NT | nick | 2006/05/14 04:57 PM |
Hybrid kernel, not NT | Brendan | 2006/05/14 09:40 PM |
Hybrid kernel, not NT | nick | 2006/05/14 10:46 PM |
Hybrid kernel, not NT | Brendan | 2006/05/15 03:00 AM |
Hybrid kernel, not NT | rwessel | 2006/05/15 06:21 AM |
Hybrid kernel, not NT | Brendan | 2006/05/15 07:55 AM |
Hybrid kernel, not NT | Linus Torvalds | 2006/05/15 08:49 AM |
Hybrid kernel, not NT | nick | 2006/05/15 03:41 PM |
Hybrid kernel, not NT | tony roth | 2008/01/31 01:20 PM |
Hybrid kernel, not NT | nick | 2006/05/15 05:33 PM |
Hybrid kernel, not NT | Brendan | 2006/05/16 12:39 AM |
Hybrid kernel, not NT | nick | 2006/05/16 01:53 AM |
Hybrid kernel, not NT | Brendan | 2006/05/16 04:37 AM |
Hybrid kernel, not NT | Anonymous | 2008/05/01 09:31 PM |
Following the structure of the tree | Michael S | 2008/05/02 03:19 AM |
Following the structure of the tree | Dean Kent | 2008/05/02 04:31 AM |
Following the structure of the tree | Michael S | 2008/05/02 05:02 AM |
Following the structure of the tree | David W. Hess | 2008/05/02 05:48 AM |
Following the structure of the tree | Dean Kent | 2008/05/02 08:14 AM |
Following the structure of the tree | David W. Hess | 2008/05/02 09:05 AM |
LOL! | Dean Kent | 2008/05/02 09:33 AM |
Following the structure of the tree | anonymous | 2008/05/02 02:04 PM |
Following the structure of the tree | Dean Kent | 2008/05/02 06:52 PM |
Following the structure of the tree | Foo_ | 2008/05/03 01:01 AM |
Following the structure of the tree | David W. Hess | 2008/05/03 05:54 AM |
Following the structure of the tree | Dean Kent | 2008/05/03 09:06 AM |
Following the structure of the tree | Foo_ | 2008/05/04 12:06 AM |
Following the structure of the tree | Michael S | 2008/05/04 12:22 AM |
Hybrid kernel, not NT | Linus Torvalds | 2006/05/09 04:19 PM |
Microkernel Vs Monolithic Kernel | Kernel_Protector | 2006/05/09 08:41 PM |
Microkernel Vs Monolithic Kernel | David Kanter | 2006/05/09 09:30 PM |
Sigh, Stand back, its slashdotting time. (NT) | Anonymous | 2006/05/09 09:44 PM |
Microkernel Vs Monolithic Kernel | blah | 2006/05/12 07:58 PM |
Microkernel Vs Monolithic Kernel | Rob Thorpe | 2006/05/15 12:41 AM |
Hybrid kernel, not NT | AnalGuy | 2006/05/16 02:10 AM |
Theory versus practice | David Kanter | 2006/05/16 11:55 AM |
Distributed algorithms | Rob Thorpe | 2006/05/16 11:53 PM |
Theory versus practice | Howard Chu | 2006/05/17 01:54 AM |
Theory versus practice | JS | 2006/05/17 03:29 AM |
Play online poker, blackjack !!! | Gamezonex | 2007/08/16 12:49 PM |
Hybrid kernel, not NT (NT) | atle rene mossik | 2020/12/12 08:31 AM |
Hybrid (micro)kernels | philt | 2006/05/14 08:15 PM |
Hybrid (micro)kernels | Linus Torvalds | 2006/05/15 07:20 AM |
Hybrid (micro)kernels | Linus Torvalds | 2006/05/15 10:56 AM |
Hybrid (micro)kernels | Rob Thorpe | 2006/05/16 12:22 AM |
Hybrid (micro)kernels | rwessel | 2006/05/16 10:23 AM |
Hybrid (micro)kernels | Rob Thorpe | 2006/05/16 11:43 PM |
Hybrid (micro)kernels | rwessel | 2006/05/17 12:33 AM |
Hybrid (micro)kernels | Rob Thorpe | 2006/05/19 06:51 AM |
Hybrid (micro)kernels | rwessel | 2006/05/19 11:27 AM |
Hybrid (micro)kernels | techIperson | 2006/05/15 12:25 PM |
Hybrid (micro)kernels | mas | 2006/05/15 04:17 PM |
Hybrid (micro)kernels | Linus Torvalds | 2006/05/15 04:39 PM |
Hybrid (micro)kernels | Colonel Kernel | 2006/05/15 08:17 PM |
Hybrid (micro)kernels | Wink Saville | 2006/05/15 09:31 PM |
Hybrid (micro)kernels | Linus Torvalds | 2006/05/16 09:08 AM |
Hybrid (micro)kernels | Wink Saville | 2006/05/16 08:55 PM |
Hybrid (micro)kernels | rwessel | 2006/05/16 10:31 AM |
Hybrid (micro)kernels | Linus Torvalds | 2006/05/16 11:00 AM |
Hybrid (micro)kernels | Brendan | 2006/05/16 12:36 AM |
Hybrid (micro)kernels | Paul Elliott | 2006/09/03 07:44 AM |
Hybrid (micro)kernels | Rob Thorpe | 2006/09/04 08:25 AM |
Hybrid (micro)kernels | philt | 2006/05/15 11:55 PM |
Hybrid (micro)kernels | pgerassi | 2007/08/16 06:41 PM |
Another questionable entry on Wikipedia? | Chung Leong | 2006/05/18 09:33 AM |
Hybrid (micro)kernels | israel | 2006/05/20 03:25 AM |
Hybrid (micro)kernels | Rob Thorpe | 2006/05/22 07:35 AM |