Bug#169542: RFP: crl-ohh-bootldr -- CRL/OHH Bootloader for handhelds

[Philip Blundell <pb@nexus.co.uk>]

On Sat, 2003-01-25 at 23:43, Robert Millan wrote:
> On Sat, Jan 25, 2003 at 06:08:36PM +0000, Philip Blundell wrote:
> > 
> > It's not really clear to me what the benefit would be of packaging the
> > bootldr in Debian.  It has to be programmed into its own flash sector,
> > doesn't require any supporting files, and Debian doesn't currently have
> > direct support for any of the platforms that the bootldr runs on.
> > 
> > What was your reason for requesting that this program be packaged?
> 
> Debian runs on ARM and should support arm-based pocketpcs. the iPAQ
> needs this bootloader to load the kernel Linux.

I understand what the bootldr is for, and why it's needed, but I don't
see what the benefit is in having it as a package.

The bootldr image is just a single datafile, and it would be a waste of
space to install it in the filesystem on the target device.  There isn't
currently any support for installing or upgrading the bootldr from
inside Linux: it is typically done either from WinCE (during initial
installation) or from the bootldr itself (for upgrades).  So it's not at
all clear to me when it would be useful to install this package.

p.