Limine Bootloader

Carver Harrison

unread,

Oct 11, 2021, 7:14:53 PM10/11/21

to

Try Limine Today: https://github.com/limine-bootloader/limine

- What is Limine?

Limine is an advanced multiprotocol x86/x86_64 BIOS and UEFI bootloader
that supports Linux, multiboot1 and 2, the stivale protocols, and
chainloading.

- What is a bootloader for?
A bootloader is an essential piece of software which takes over the
computer after the firmware relinquishes control of the system. It is
the job of the bootloader to find an operating system to boot and
perform all the operations needed in order to get the operating system's
kernel and modules up and running.

- Why Limine?
Limine is lightweight, elegant, fast, and the reference implementation
of the stivale and stivale2 boot protocols.

- Why not GRUB?

GRUB is an amazing piece of software, but Limine's and stivale(2)'s main
target audience is operating system and kernel developers that want to
use a boot protocol which supports modern features which GRUB's aging
multiboot protocols do not (or do not properly).

wolfgang kern

unread,

Oct 12, 2021, 3:10:29 AM10/12/21

to

who is brave enough to check on it ? :)
I'm curious how assembler source of this UEFI loader would look like.
but it sounds suspicious like hell to be just one more HLL-C bloat.
__
wolfgang

Kerr-Mudd, John

unread,

Oct 12, 2021, 4:42:53 AM10/12/21

to

Well I went to the site (github) where there's asm src code. (OK, and C
for the menu program).

--
Bah, and indeed Humbug.

Branimir Maksimovic

unread,

Oct 12, 2021, 7:37:09 AM10/12/21

to

With UEFI you don't need bootloader :P
> __
> wolfgang

--

7-77-777
Evil Sinner!
with software, you repeat same experiment, expecting different results...

Branimir Maksimovic

unread,

Oct 12, 2021, 7:39:44 AM10/12/21

to

iWell iUEFI just needs PE format and no bootloader :P

Carver Harrison

unread,

Oct 13, 2021, 12:57:15 AM10/13/21

to

huh? The drivers are all written in C. Very little is written in
assembly. Really just the bootstrapping code and trampolines. Take a
better look...

mint suki

unread,

Oct 13, 2021, 12:57:55 AM10/13/21

to

The C code is definitely not just "for the menu program".

The whole bootloader, including filesystem drivers, protocol implementations, user interface, etc. is in C. The bootloader is 92.8% C according to GitHub, that should raise some red flag that it is not just the menu that is in C.

> I'm curious how assembler source of this UEFI loader would look like.
> but it sounds suspicious like hell to be just one more HLL-C bloat.

It's HLL-C bloat. Move along, move along.

mint suki

unread,

Oct 13, 2021, 1:02:07 AM10/13/21

to

> With UEFI you don't need bootloader :P

I am sure UEFI supports loading ELF and multiboot/stivale(2) directly. (Hint: It does not).

Making a kernel dependant on UEFI directly is NOT good design. The second best shot from there would be making a pre-kernel that is an EFI application that in turn calls the actual kernel with a properly "sanitised" protocol/environment and.. Oh wait, that is what bootloaders do. You just reinvented the wheel, but worse.

Carver Harrison

unread,

Oct 13, 2021, 1:03:58 AM10/13/21

to

Branimir Maksimovic <branimir....@icloud.com> wrote:

> With UEFI you don't need bootloader :P

This is very incorrect

Branimir Maksimovic

unread,

Oct 13, 2021, 5:34:30 AM10/13/21

to

How so? EFI just calls executable on fat32 partition :P
You can boot Linux without bootloader no problem :p

Kerr-Mudd, John

unread,

Oct 13, 2021, 12:18:32 PM10/13/21

to

Thanks.