Re: ECP port driver

[Fraser Farrell <fraser@trilobytes.com.au>]

Robert (and list),

>Hmmm... 2.2 you say.  I was shooting for 2.4 - it
>makes supporting devfs easier to do - no need for
>IFDEFS.  Any particular reason you indicate 2.2?

The ECP port was introduced around the era of the 486; so I was
thinking of a scenario where a 486/Pentium-class computer sits outside
in the cold & damp to run the Mark IV. Most of the prebuilt distros
with kernel 2.4 are a bit overwhelming for older hardware. Or won't
run at all.

OTOH you may need a powerful box with kernel 2.4 to run the image
analysis software.


>If there are serious requests for 2.2, is anyone
>willing to test some code on their platform?  Although
>I can grab another version of the kernel, my server is
>my playground, and I dislike rebooting often :-)

My server had its second reboot for this year two days ago. A power
cut which outlasted the UPS. I used this opportunity to replace a
noisy fan :)


>Speaking of distribution specific, what architectures
>might someone use this on, and would that someone be
>willing to test some code?

Hmmm...of the boxes with ECP ports here; I can do Redhat 6.1 (kernel
2.2.12) Mandrake 8.0 (kernel 2.4.something) or Slackware 7. I've also
got Redhat 7.1 but nowhere to install it yet. I could also try it out
with a couple of the mini-distros such as Dragon or Phat.

What I don't have is a Mark IV (or something that can simulate a Mark
IV).

It may be worth developing a utility that can run under DOS (or Linux)
to simulate a Mark IV on any computer with an ECP port. Including the
output of known "test pattern" images for verification of your setup
and data analysis.

The ability to swap in a known-to-be-working replacement is very
helpful for troubleshooting. But having two Mark IV's at every
location probably isn't Tom's idea of effective surveying! A simulator
would also be useful for anyone without the camera who wants to write
control software for it.

Apologies if all this has been discussed before.



cheers,
Fraser Farrell