LLL/i386 boot code

[Francois-Rene Rideau]

>>  as86+m4 code to boot on the i386 architecture.
>
> Neat! I am going to do some 386 boot code myself in about three weeks.
> Maybe we can share code and experience :-)
>
   Indeed, why write it twice ?
My boot sector is already as86 ok;
My macros have been translated from TASM to as86+m4;
the loader is being translated to as86+m4.
It allows direct booting, or booting from LILO.
booting from DOS prompt should be possible with LOADLIN, but somehow it's
still buggy for now :(
I already have routines to switch real mode <-> protected mode.
I've downloaded several protected-mode managers to complete interrupt
and mmap support.
Soon version 0.0.1 ;) ?

   As you see, Linux is the cross-development platform I use (though
all these tools may be available in DOS, or easily portable to DOS).

   Now, what to do after that ? It depends on what you need. Send me any
code you write. I guess that personally, I'll explore persistence and garbage
collection. How I wish other people took over i386 assembly development !

   However, no definitive TUNES code can exist until we have a definitive LLL
maintainer, and some HLL syntax. I consider myself only as a temporary
solution for a LLL maintainer, and would like to have suggestions and
feedback before I settle any HLL syntax.

   BTW, who is willing to take over OTOP (On Top of POSIX) development ?