xyzzy's blog

x86_64 port: final report

Blog post by xyzzy on Tue, 2012-08-28 09:57
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Since the three-quarter term report, I have continued porting userland servers and apps. The app server is fully functional, as are Deskbar and Tracker and a few other apps. I also cross-compiled all of the basic development optional packages (GCC/Binutils, autotools, make, etc.) for x86_64. Another screenshot showing the current state of things is below:

x86_64 port: three quarter term report

Blog post by xyzzy on Sat, 2012-08-04 10:50
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I have continued to make good progress since my midterm report. All the kernel functionality except for user debugging is implemented, and I have ported a basic set of drivers, including PCI, disk drivers, BFS and PS/2 input. For most drivers, porting is just a matter of fixing compiler warnings. For some, there are 64-bit issues which make porting more difficult. For example, the USB stack will require a bit more work as it currently assumes that addr_t is 32-bit everywhere.

I have also made some progress in porting userland to x86_64. I currently have libroot, libbe, bash, and most of the command line utilities ported. I have got an interactive bash shell running on top of consoled (which is usually used to run gdb on if app_server crashes).

x86_64 port: midterm report

Blog post by xyzzy on Wed, 2012-07-11 11:08
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Since my quarter term report I have made a great deal of progress. The boot loader x86_64 support is finished, and the kernel can now be booted to the point of searching for the boot volume. A screenshot of this:

x86_64 port: quarter term report

Blog post by xyzzy on Fri, 2012-06-22 12:27
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As I mentioned in my first blog post, I had exams until a couple of weeks ago, so I didn't start working on my project properly until then. However, I am now working full time so I expect to make a lot more progress in the coming weeks.

So far I have made it possible to compile the kernel for x86_64 by adding stub implementations of all the architecture functions and fixing compilation errors/warnings (all architectures that Haiku supports at the moment are 32-bit, so there were various problems in the code when compiling for 64-bit). I have also made changes to the kernel_args structure (the structure which the bootloader passes to the kernel containing information such as the boot volume, loaded modules and the memory map). As I am making the x86 bootloader able to load both a 32-bit and 64-bit kernel, this structure must be compatible between both. The changes I have made make all members the same size regardless of whether compiling for 32-bit or 64-bit.

I have now begun implementing ELF64 loading into the bootloader so that the 64-bit kernel can be loaded. I expect to have the bootloader work completed by the end of next week, after which I will begin work on the kernel.

My GitHub repository can be found at https://github.com/xyzzy51/haiku/tree/x86_64 (I'm working in the x86_64 branch), for anyone who's interested in following my progress. You'll also see my commits on the haiku-commits list.

GSoC Introduction: x86_64 port

Blog post by xyzzy on Sun, 2012-04-29 14:52
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My name is Alex, I am a first year computer science student with a strong interest in operating systems and low-level software. My GSoC project this year is to begin a port of Haiku to the x86_64 architecture. Almost all modern x86 CPUs have 64-bit support, therefore a port of Haiku will allow it to take full advantage of these CPUs. The GSoC coding period is almost certainly too little time to finish a port of the whole OS, however my plan is to have ported at least the boot loader, kernel and some modules/drivers.

Universities in the UK finish later than most US universities, I do not finish my exams until a couple of weeks into the GSoC coding period. Therefore, there is a limited amount of work I will be able to do during the community bonding period. However, while researching my project proposal I’ve got myself familiar with the Haiku codebase and also submitted patches to fix the GCC4 x86_64 toolchain, which have been committed. I will use time that I do have to continue to familiarise myself with the Haiku code and start thinking about some of the implementation details of my project.

During the coding period, I will first work on the boot loader. I intend to modify the existing x86 boot loader so that it is capable of loading both a 32-bit Haiku kernel and a 64-bit one. Once this is done, I will work on implementing the x86_64 architecture functionality in the kernel. Finally, I will port modules and drivers to the 64-bit kernel.

Should I have time, I will also begin work on porting userland. As I said, there may not be enough time to get that far, but even if I don’t, there’s some future work for me to do after GSoC.

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