[ On Saturday, December 4, 1999 at 13:39:50 (-0800), Jonathan Stone wrote: ]
> Subject: Re: Booting without video card.... 
>
> What's so great about OpenFirmware? That Forth is CPU-independent
> (so OFW roms can be MI), that it's easy to redirect to serial ports,
> or something else?

Its pervasiveness is what's most cool about it, and yeah, I suppose
that's a direct result of it being written in Forth.  You get the same
basic functionality and user-interface on everything from older Suns
through Motorola machines, to even an Apple powerbook.  I was totally
elated the first time I saw openfirmware "printenv" output on a
powerbook.

The functionality is just about right for sophisticated firmware too.
It makes the PC BIOS look like the ancient C/PM crud it's based upon,
and yet it's not trying to completely replace the OS like DEC's SRM
seems to want to do.

Not only that but the user-interface is very well suited for its place
in things.  It's simple enough, and it doesn't try to hide anything
behind a bunch of magic menus.

The best part is perhaps that OpenFirmware is an official real standard
(IEEE-1275).  Too bad there's not already an iAPx86 binding.

As for Forth, well I know basically nothing at all about Forth, but
those who do are always eager to tell me how cool it is and I've no
reason to doubt them....

-- 
							Greg A. Woods

+1 416 218-0098      VE3TCP      <gwoods@acm.org>      <robohack!woods>
Planix, Inc. <woods@planix.com>; Secrets of the Weird <woods@weird.com>