[Prev][Next][Index][Thread]
mirror update (fwd)
TITHADSHU. (btw, Amos, I donno how, but it stabilized)
Mirrored linux.kernel.2.1 (ftp.cs.helsinki.fi:/pub/Software/Linux/Kernel/v2.1 -> /home/ftp/pub/linux/kernel/v2.1) can't do without the kernel BETAS either @ Wed Nov 13 06:07:25 IST 1996
Got linux-2.1.9.tar.gz 6278333
Got patch-2.1.9.gz 318825
Got LATEST-IS-2.1.9 0
Linux 2.1.9 patch - patch-2.1.9.gz
* Updated Display adapter and video mode setup code.
* Sparc Architecture Updates
* Additional IDE CD-ROM Updates - Serveral Changes
* Keyboard update - SAK should now work in the raw mode.
* G8BPQ Compatible "AX.25 via eithernet" Driver Included
* TULIP Ethernet driver update = Include AUI in dc21041 media
printout.
* MKISS Driver Added - This module implements the AX.25 protocol for
kernel-based devices like TTYs.
* PI2 Interface can now be used as a module.
* NCR53c8xx Driver update to v1.14c
* AF Filesystem Updates
* IPv6 Updates
* NET/ROM Update - Release 004 - Supports use as a module.
* Addition of ROSE Driver Release 001
Linux 2.1.8 patch - patch-2.1.8.gz
The 2.1.8 release is more "interesting", and the big thing here is
the new IPv6 code together with quite a number of cleanups for IPv4 (TCP
retransmissions are really done
by TCP, not by the IP layer like they used to be done). Thanks to
Pedro for all the work on this.
The new networking code can certainly have some problems, but hey,
that's the whole point with a development kernel. At least you shouldn't
be bored by testing it out
(but you might: it's not exactly _unstable_ either, and it might just
turn out to work perfectly for everybody, who knows?).
2.1.8 also contains various other patches:
* ide code cleanups
* three instructions less in system calls ;)
* preliminary module exception handling stuff (but your insmod
needs to know about this all)
* exception 15 handling for those buggy PPro's (this is in 2.0.x
too)
* AMD k5 divide overflow fix (this is in the 2.0 tree too)
* dead-Cedilla keyboard support ("the only good cedilla is a dead
cedilla"). This needs a new version of kbdtools to be useful. Also in
2.0.x
* SMBFS inode time fix - now sets file modification time
correctly on SMB file systems.
* NCR53C8xx SCSI Driver Update
Tell me if you have problems,
Linus
Linux 2.1.7 patch - patch-2.1.7.gz
Ok, 2.1.7 is out there in ftp-land, and has the new clever exception
handling implementation done by Richard Henderson for both x86 and alpha
(I think the idea was
originally Ingo Molnars, but I could be mistaken, and Richard
certainly took it to new heights of elegance). Anyway, the new stuff uses
some clever linker tricks to
essentially do zero-cost exception handling rather than having to
waste precious instructions to update the per-task exception structure.
Very nifty indeed.
The interface is still exactly the same, only some low-level
architecture- specific implementation details changed. It's all so clever
that it's scary. People interested in
low-level scary stuff should take a look at the uaccess.h files for
x86 or alpha, and be ready to spend some time just figuring out what it
all does ;)
Anyway, the new exceptions do have a down-side: the exception tables
do not currently get exported from kernel loadable modules. This is not
something fundamentally
hard: it's just something that needs to be handled by the insmod &co
people, and which hasn't been done yet. Anybody who feels he can be useful
in making insmod talk to
the kernel about the exception tables (Bjvrn? Jacques?), please
contact Richard about this.
Note that the lack of exception data in modules does _not_ mean that
modules don't work. It only means that modules can't handle user space
address exceptions, and
thus can't recover gracefully from EFAULT errors. As such you can
still load and use the modules (assuming you have the other 2.1.x fixes
for insmod module loading), but
I'd suggest against it on any system with untrusted users that you
expect to do nasty things just for fun.
Apart from the new clever exceptions, the other changes in 2.1.7 are:
* baycom driver is a real network driver instead of a strange
character driver.
* soundmodem driver. You don't want to know what perversions
people are up to ;) (If you _do_ want to know, read the docs)
* various drivers which had boo-boo's with the new exception code
fixed up (ie ftape/md/cdrom/eql should work again)
* isdn silly problems should be fixed
* scc driver update
* tulip driver multicast lists
* aha1740 should work again (virtual/physical address probs on
x86, funnily it worked on alpha)
* quota unmount bug should be fixed in 2.1.x too
Anyway, I finally think the exception stuff is starting to be stable
(apart from the issues on module loading), and I think I'll try to start
integrating some of the other patches in
the next few weeks. So expect to start seeing ipv6/PPC/Sparc/m68k/ARM
etc patches any week now (and my apologies to the developers of those
things for being slow
to react - you're all in my queue of things to handle, I've just been
slow to get everything else cleared up).
Linus
Linux 2.1.6 patch - patch-2.1.6.gz
Ok, I'm back, and I made a 2.1.6 release. I'll try to make a 2.0.24
release later today, but quite frankly I had 1500+ emails to go through,
and I want to calm down a bit
before making that release..
2.1.6 does:
* changed some implementation details of the user access macros
on x86: it seems my old inline assembly wasn't really 100% stable. That
might have led to
* unexpected problems (incorrect copying of memory etc). The new
code also does a first version of constant-size optimizations.
* new sound driver. I haven't actually tested whether it even
compiles, but hey, it can't be worse than 2.1.5 ;)
* updated ISDN code. Some of the code has been updated by yours
truly (the readb/membase stuff for the TELES driver) without having access
to the hardware or
* even compiling it, but as you all know I never make mistaeks,
so it will obviously work on the first try. It _might_ even work on
alphas.
* math emulation should work again on 386's..
* SCC character driver rewritten to be a real network driver
instead.
* getting rid of "segment.h" eventually..
* cdu31a should work with sound again
* aha2940 driver temporary disable to make it boot for some
people (please tell me if it still doesn't work for you)
* eata driver update
* and the big-ping patch, of course..
For obvious reasons (see about email above), I've been kind of busy
and haven't had time to check all the changes I made on an alpha yet.
Testers appreciated.
Also, if you have sent me patches and don't see them in 2.1.6, you
can more-or-less assume that I don't have them pending, but am hoping to
have them re-sent in the near
future (but don't all flood me immediately, I'd rather avoid having
to go through 50 patches in one day).