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drivers with proprietary code
- From: Mark Salter <msalter at redhat dot com>
- To: ecos-maintainers at sources dot redhat dot com
- Date: Wed, 2 Apr 2003 08:13:33 -0500 (EST)
- Subject: drivers with proprietary code
I'm working on a board that has proprietary network hardware. The
CPU contains dedicated "network engines" that require binary-only
microcode to run. The interface between this microcode and the CPU
core is provided by a proprietary library which is available in
source form but under a license that requires permission for use
and distribution. I have written an eCos driver which incorporates
parts of this library to support the builtin ethernet ports in
RedBoot.
I'd like to get a sense of how folks feel about this sort of thing.
Its clear to me that such code goes against the tenets of s.r.c, so
I don't see this driver ever being hosted there. I think in this
case the board manufacturer should supply the driver as a .epk file.
So, I'm thinking that a link from the board's info page on s.r.c to
the board maker's site along with some instructions on building and
using the driver would be okay. What to others think?
--Mark