On Mon, 4 Sep 2000, Matt Barringer wrote:

> On Mon, 4 Sep 2000, David Brownlee wrote:
> 
> > 	There seem to be quite a few people out there interested but
> > 	noone has stepped forward to actually start things...
> > 	You would be very much welcomed :)
> 
> Well, I guess that I'll just have to, then :).  It shouldn't be terribly
> difficult, since the POWER1 (which my ancient machine is blessed with) is
> just a precurser to the PPC, with a few instructions that were removed
> later on.  Any tips on how to begin?  

	There are others who can give better directions, but a good
	start might be: (comments/additions welcomed from anyone :)

	- Try to find as much documentation as you can. Then try some more.
	- Copy the sys tree of a similar port (say 'prep'). 
	- Setup a cross compiler on another NetBSD machine (a powerpc box
	  would be ideal, but an i386 should be fine).
	- Work out how to generate a binary understood by the boot loader.
	  If there is an existing OS on the target, you might be better
	  taking advantage of it.
	- Try to build a standalone binary which can output to the console,
	  possibly using PROM drivers, or serial console. No need for VM.
	- Build a kernel with memorydisk root.
	- Add disk and network device support. It may be easier to start with
	  external cards for which MI drivers already exist in the NetBSD tree.
	- Get port into main NetBSD tree.
	- Keep adding hardware support, get sysinst running, produce formal
	  releases, write a compat_<original_os>, achieve world fame, and 
	  generally be a force for good in the world.

                David/absolute
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