16-bit code and L4

[Adam Lackorzynski]

On Fri Jun 22, 2007 at 15:37:30 +1300, Valery V. Sedletski wrote:
> >On Thu Jun 21, 2007 at 03:55:24 +1300, Valery V. Sedletski wrote:
> >> >>> 2) Must all the segment registers be CS == DS == ES == FS == GS == SS == FLAT in L4 usermode 
> >> >programs (in Intel 
> >> >>> architecture implementation)? Or, there exist a possibility to use segments other than FLAT?
> >> >>>   
> >> >>Fiasco preserves some of these segments (e.g., GS to support thread 
> >> >>local storage). However, unless OS/2 makes use of these segments in 
> >> >>32-bit mode there is no need to change these from a flat setting.
> >> >
> >> >It seems, that OS/2 does not use GS (GS seems to be always == 0), at least, in application programs.
> >> >
> >> 
> >> But also FS is used to address a structure named Thread Info Block
> >> (TIB), it is also not flat (it has a limit=0x30) So, FS is used by
> >> OS/2 and programs depend on it. GS seems to be not used, and ES and DS
> >> are generally flat.
> >
> >Fiasco makes some GDT slots available to userland so that FS and GS can
> >be used with those.
> >
> 
> And how to access these GDT descriptors from userland? Is this
> documented somewhere? Can usermode task change attributes of these
> descriptors (such as "16-bits" attribute)?  Are they (descriptors)
> somehow mapped to requestor's address space or how else can usermode
> task modify these descriptors? Or, can usermode task only load
> selectors corresponding to these descriptors, but not modify
> descriptors itself?

Userland can load descriptors that are sanity checked by the kernel and
then stored in the GDT. Using 16-bit segments should work too although I
never tried. Similar features are offered for the LDT. Our l4sys package
contains segment.h headers which describe the kernel interface.

> So it is with Fiasco, and what about Pistachio? (Is this mailing list
> the right place to ask such questions, or it is better to ask them at
> l4ka at ira.uka.de?)

I'm talking about Fiasco only. You can ask any L4 related question on
l4-hackers.

> And what about DS/ES? Can usermode task load these registers with
> another selector, as with FS/GS?

Loading should work I guess but DS and ES are currently not restored on
exit to user.



Adam
-- 
Adam                 adam at os.inf.tu-dresden.de
  Lackorzynski         http://os.inf.tu-dresden.de/~adam/