1999-03-24 00:02:09 +03:00
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.\" $NetBSD: whatis,v 1.9 1999/03/23 21:02:09 perry Exp $
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1999-01-13 10:30:01 +03:00
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.Pp
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1999-03-23 21:57:19 +03:00
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As is usual between releases, the i386 port has had many improvements
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made to it -- too many to detail all of them here.
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.Pp
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Numerous new drivers have been added. See the supported hardware list
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for details.
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.Pp
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Some (but not all!) notable i386-specific improvements include:
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1999-01-13 10:30:01 +03:00
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.Pp
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.Bl -bullet
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.It
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1999-03-23 21:57:19 +03:00
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New i386 boot blocks now support INT13 extensions. This means that on
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modern BIOSes, it is possible to boot a NetBSD partition that is past
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the old 1024 cylinder boundary. The new boot blocks also support a
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mechanism to pass BIOS geometry information to the kernel, permitting
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improved automation during installs.
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1999-01-13 10:30:01 +03:00
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.It
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1999-03-23 21:57:19 +03:00
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The i386 port also now uses libkvm -- libkvm.old has finally been purged.
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1999-01-13 10:30:01 +03:00
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.El
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.Pp
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1999-03-23 21:57:19 +03:00
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.Nx 1.4
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1999-01-13 10:30:01 +03:00
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on i386 is, as usual, also fully backward compatible with old
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.Nx
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1999-03-23 21:57:19 +03:00
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i386 binaries, so you don't need to recompile all your local programs
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provided you set the appropriate binary compatibility options in your
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kernel configuration.
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.Pp
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The i386 will be switching executable formats from a.out to ELF in
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the next release. The support for this has already been completed, but
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was judged too new to be included in
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.Nx 1.4 .
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