OS/2, eCS & ArcaOS - Technical > Setup & Installation
Final Request for Help for the Final Warp 4 Image Clone
Sigurd Fastenrath:
--- Quote from: walking_x on April 05, 2013, 07:23:24 pm ---
--- Quote from: Doug Bissett on April 05, 2013, 06:19:01 pm ---Apparently, it is not always "huge" blocks, and it can be more than 2-3. It depends on the specific system, and what I/O they have installed.
--- End quote ---
Yes, but there is no reason to use tiny blocks... Whole list can hold up to 20 entries and most of them - small in size. OS/4 loader just ignore blocks smaller 64k, as I know.
And - OS2LDR still can be rewritten from scratch ;) This is possible if you know how organized kernel loading process.
--- End quote ---
Hm, I just replaced the eCS 2.2 OS2LDR with the one from the OS4 project
(NO other files replaced, kernel or whatever, version is from the "os2krnlSVN2814_unoff")
and guess what -
the whole RAM is there (despite the one that is used by the Graphic card)!
No additional problems occur while using this one so far - but testing still pending.
The file size of this OS2LDR is about 49kb compared with the 43kb from eCS.
I wonder - Is there a way to merge the experience of OS4 with the one from ecomstation and David Azariewicz as this seems to may solve more actual eCS problems?!
Andreas Schnellbacher:
--- Quote from: Sigurd Fastenrath on April 06, 2013, 01:39:50 pm ---Hm, I just replaced the eCS 2.2 OS2LDR with the one from the OS4 project
(NO other files replaced, kernel or whatever, version is from the "os2krnlSVN2814_unoff")
and guess what -
the whole RAM is there (despite the one that is used by the Graphic card)!
--- End quote ---
That's what walking_x said. Thanks for the info. I understand now
finally why they wrote a new loader.
I doubt that will not effect the eCS development due to the license
agreement with IBM. I still wonder what is possible and what isn't:
o Replacing the kernel is not allowed, but patching it in memory is.
o Replacing the IBM installation is not allowed, but creating heavy
frameworks around it is.
o Replacing the loader: ?
Andreas
Andreas Schnellbacher:
--- Quote from: Sigurd Fastenrath on April 06, 2013, 01:39:50 pm ---http://www.os2world.com/forum/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=101.0;attach=92
--- End quote ---
Sigurd, I would change VIRTUALADDRESSLIMIT to 1536. Otherwise you'll
run out of shared memory too soon. That depends on the apps you use.
Andreas
guzzi:
I am no expert on copyright law. I think however that rewriting the loader needs reverse engineering and that would make it a copyright infringement. They put a lot of work in the os/4 loader and kernel and it's basically been a waste of effort because of legal issues. A shame really.
Martin Iturbide:
Hi Guzzi.
I'm not expert also in copyright law, but I saw there are some examples that are working outside our community. For example Linux (GNU Linux) is some kind of reverse engineering of Unix. It does not mean that they grab Unix binaries and make a inverse-compile process which will be a copyright infringement. ReactOS is a clone of Windows (32bits) and it is not marked as an "illegal project".
Studying how OS2Loader works and create a clone of it, without using any kind of leaked IBM source code, is legal according to my knowledge. For example, I don't consider illegal this: http://www.edm2.com/0705/freeldr/freeldr.html
I think that replacing the kernel is allowed, only if the kernel is a 100% original work, without any leaked source code from IBM. If you hack the binaries and share them, or use a leaked IBM source code you will doing a copyright infringement. Again, studying the OS/2 Kernel and creating an 100% original clone is not a copyright infringement.
OS/4 Loader
About OS/4 Loader. I really don't have the knowledge to know if it is a 100% original work, and I will love if someone outside the OS/4 team can check the source code can confirm this, but I consider it an interesting project and I'm happy that someone coded it.
But the license of use is completely against open source software and I'm against it. "Source code can be available by request, for non-commercial use only." In other words, you don't know which are the rules to keep developing that loader.
I will like to recommend to the OS/4 team (my personal opinion) to use an open source license for their development and expand their project reach. Any open source license they like or choose , but a formal open source license for their project (http://opensource.org/licenses). With that there will be clear rules how to use their source code.
Open Source is not evil. Open Source is not capitalist (and not communist). Open source is not focus on helping big companies to get money. Open Source is a way to license software, and if you choose a strict (copyleft) license like GNU GPL you will guarantee that any improvement to the source code will be released back to the public, no mater if it is an individual or big company.
Regards
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