Category:PowerPC: Difference between revisions
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The PowerPC CPU architecture is significantly different from the IA32. Yet still, the architecture of your OS need not differ too much: While the way you address memory on the lowest levels might be different, or the way your SIMD unit operates, you still have a bootloader, a scheduler, a dispatcher, a memory manager etc. etc. |
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You will be able to transcribe most of the documentation 1:1 to the PowerPC, unless they handle the low levels (interrupt handling, real vs. protected mode etc.). |
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For the low levels, you'll of course need Motorola (or IBM) docs. |
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* Motorola docs are found at http://www.motorola.com / semiconductors / products / 32bit embedded processors / PowerPC / (make your pick) / Documentation. |
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* http://www-3.ibm.com/chips/techlib/techlib.nsf/pages/main |
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There are good books on the PowerPC architecture (including MMU and stuff) too, but they're harder to find because they're less demand for it. |
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But CPU docs won't suffice. You also need info on the motherboard / chipset / boot sequence etc. - and that's where it gets tricky, since there is no such thing as "the PowerPC architecture" - Apple doesn't like giving away that information, and there are many other platforms that might or might not be compatible. |
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A Linux-on-PPC project exists, and is probably a good place to look for PowerPC info... |
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<pre> |
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/usr/src/linux/arch/ppc/boot/prep/head.S |
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/* |
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* Boot loader philosophy: |
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* ROM loads us to some arbitrary location |
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* Move the boot code to the link address (8M) |
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* Call decompress_kernel() |
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* Relocate the initrd, zimage and residual data to 8M |
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* Decompress the kernel to 0 |
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* Jump to the kernel entry |
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* -- Cort |
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*/ |
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</pre> |
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* http://penguinppc.org/ looks like a neat place to start. |
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* http://www.netbsd.org/Ports/macppc/ also might be of some interest. |
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* http://bootrom.apple.com/ |
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The BIOS in latest Apple Macintosh is named "Open Firmware". Open Firmware was initially a SPARC-stuff targeted at Sun stations. Extension cards and other hardware of the like that are OpenFirmware compliant should carry a Forth-written initialization code in their ROM. I suppose the main boot rom then scan memory for such ROMs and then interpret the FORTH code on them. |
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* http://www.firmworks.com/www/ofw.htm |
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* http://www.openfirmware.org/ |
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* http://www.firmworks.com/open_fw/liter/ofdesc.pdf (overview of OpenFirmware) |
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==PowerPC Emulators== |
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* [[QEMU]] |
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* [http://pearpc.sourceforge.net/ PearPC] |
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[[Category:Architectures]] |
[[Category:Architectures]] |
Revision as of 22:28, 14 February 2007
Pages in category "PowerPC"
The following 5 pages are in this category, out of 5 total.