Re: grub2 miscelanea questions (2/2)

[Marco Gerards]

adrian15 <address@hidden> writes:

> Comes from grub2 miscelanea questions (1/2)
>
>
> 14) help linux
> =================
> Usage: linux FILE [ARGS...]
> Load a linux kernel.
>
> I think that a message telling the user that the ARGS are arguments for
> the linux kernel instead of arguments for the grub's linux command would
> be a good idea.

The loader itself also has arguments.  Perhaps the documentation can
be improved.

> 15) lsmod
> ==============
>
> As long as I am unable to run a pager can anyone tell me what the three
> columns mean?
>
> cat   1       normal,gzio
> gzio  6       
> boot  1       normal

The number of references to the command and the modules it refers to

> 16) help play
> ===================
>
> Usage: play FILE
> Play a tune
>
> What is the FILE format? Is it an AIFF, an AU, a WAV, or is it an ASCII
> file that has tones?
>
> I should not go to the source code for knowing it.

ASCII IIRC.  Vicent has some tunes somewhere :-).  Perhaps they are
already included somewhere.

[...]

> 18) source, . , and configfile
> =================================
>
> If both source and '.' commands say that:
> Load another config file without changing context.
> Then the configfile command should say:
> Load another config file (with a new context)
> instead of saying:
> Load another config file.

Right, they are not the same.

> 19) rescue and exit failure on qemu
> ==============================
> I think that booting from my computer does not give this error.
> If I boot from QEMU and type:
>
> grub> rescue
> and then :
> grub rescue> exit
>
> it says: FATAL: INT18: BOOT FAILURE

Weird.  Can you debug this?

> 20) grub rescue help
> ========================
>
> help : Types the commands and a minimal explanation: OK
> help any_command : Types the commands and a minimal explanation: NOT OK
> help not_a_command : Types the commands and a minimal explanation: NOT OK

huh?

> 21) grub rescue exit help
> ===========================
> When you are in grub rescue mode and you type help the exit line it's
> the following one:
>
> exit  exit from GRUB
>
> Should it not prompt ?
>
> exit  exit from GRUB rescue

The exit command terminates GRUB and continues the boot process, IIRC.

> 22) copyright message missing
> ================================
> Why isn't there (when Grub is running) any message about the GRUB
> Copyright and the GPL license and that you should have received and this
> and that?

Why should there be such message?

> Is it a memory problem? (In grub legacy there was not any message like
> this either)

No, memory is not an issue.

> Maybe we should implement an 'about' command and run it when booting :) ?

Perhaps, but I don't see the added value.

> 23) set read only variables
> ==============================
> unset prefix lets me "delete" the prefix variable.
> unset root does not let me the "root" variable.
>
> I remember that bash has an option to set read only variables.
> Maybe the root variable is a read only variable?

You can easily modify the code.  But I do not like making such
variables read-only.

> 24) 'Command' commands
> ==========================
> Is there any special reason why the
> rescue, set, unset, export, insmod, rmmod, lsmod commands are in a
> single file called: normal/command.c
> instead of being in separate files in commands/ folder ?

Yes, there is.  First of all the commands are quite trivial.  Besides
that, these commands are really the core of GRUB 2.  The same commands
are hardcoded into rescue mode as well.

--
Marco