Re: [DISCUSSION] Multiboot entry point

[Yoshinori K. Okuji]

On Thursday 18 August 2005 00:27, Ruslan Nikolaev wrote:
> I have a one question. GRUB requires have a kernel as an executable file
> (at least for ELF). This is not very good from user point. For example user
> can try to load such kernel at operating system and get something like
> "Segmentation fault".

I don't understand what is wrong with this. It is normal to get an error when 
the user executes a binary file which is not supposed to run on an alien 
environment.

> I think that having kernel as a non-executable file (for example ET_REL for
> ELF) is better. However we need another "entry" point (special symbol). It
> is possible to have something like "multiboot_start". ...And doesn't have
> "_start" or "start" symbols in kernel at all.

I don't agree. From the view of boot loaders, a kernel is truly an executable. 
So it is natural to use ET_EXEC. Applying ET_REL is very strange, because a 
kernel is not a relocatable object (who relocates the kernel?).

Okuji