[boot scriptor] Re: Features.....
- From: "Michael K Ter Louw" <mterlouw@xxxxxxx>
- To: <bscript@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 8 Jan 2003 22:14:35 -0600
Hi Chris,
> I guess what I am asking is:
>
> Is it possible to have the show command maybe automatically
> run another script or give an error code if VGA display
> hardware isn't found?
Ok, I see what you're saying now. This feature should be possible in
the next major release of Boot Scriptor; only I'm not quite sure how to
detect the presence/absence of a VGA. If anyone has any info regarding
this please forward it.
The new release will address several current users' concerns such as:
- Detecting VESA compatibiltiy
- Detecting CPU type (for booting a corresponding Linux kernel)
- Detecting the presence/absence of a file on the CD/DVD
I'm not going to promise everything for the immediate future, but the
framework for supporting these features will be in place in the first
beta, and if all goes well they will all be present in the 'stable'
release. The framework I'm referring to is a conditional branching
command, as well as supporting features such as expression evaluation,
'functions', and macros (or variables, if you prefer to call them that).
The goal is to make it possible to conditionally execute any command.
Most importantly you will be able to conditionally branch (goto a line,
call a subroutine, or run a script), so to fit your example you would be
able to check for a VGA (provided I can figure out how to make that
determination) and the run the correct menu based on the capabilities of
the hardware.
I'm making good progress towards completing the first beta, but a lot of
work is still left to do. The expression evaluator is essentially done.
It supports most C operators; maybe that's overkill but once the engine
was in there it was a cinch to add them all. I'm currently reworking
the core of the program to be better organized, and make way for future
improvements such as serial (RS-232) I/O. Unfortunately serial I/O will
have to wait a while as it will require me to recode [possibly major]
parts of the display engine, as well as brush up on UART programming and
find some hardware/software combination that I can test and debug with.
So truly headless servers won't be supported for a while, if ever, but
at least development is progressing with an eye toward the future :)
More details on the new program will follow in the coming weeks. Feel
free to continue to ask any questions that may come up in the meantime.
Mike
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