openpci release history
=======================

2.1 (15.03.2005)
Initial release.


Introduction
============

OpenPCI is an effort by Benjamin Vernoux to create a cross platform
PCI API, to ease porting PCI drivers.

OpenPCI Web site is at http://bvernoux.free.fr/DevPCI.php

OpenPCI is supported mainly within :
- Benjamin Vernoux's own drivers and tools
 o OpenPCIInfo 1.4
 o 10/100 Mb/s RTL8139 Ethernet driver
 o Fortemedia FM801 (Terratec 512i) 16bits AHI driver 
 o OpenPCI SBLive driver

- Guido Mersmann's Amithlon-oriented drivers and applications
 o AmithlonTV
 o ArakAttack (USB/USB2 driver) for Chris Hodges's Poseidon USB stack

- Chris Hodges's drivers and applications
 o OpenPCI/Zorro Catweasel MK3 keyboard Driver 
 o Poseidon USB stack

- Jens Schonfeld's drivers
 o Catweasel universal floppy disk controller


OS4 has its own PCI API (expansion.library), and its own set of PCI
drivers, for :
- sound
- usb
- ethernet
- IDE controllers
- etc.

OS4 lacks a few drivers and applications which
OpenPCI has. Typical of this is the RTL8139 10/100 Ethernet
driver, which chip can be found virtually everywhere and for
which OS4 does not have a native driver yet.

Before we get native versions of those drivers and applications,
OpenPCI for OS4 intends to "fill the gap", and to allow users to
run 68K versions of the OpenPCI drivers and applications.

OS4 native PPC versions of those OpenPCI drivers and applications
may happen or not, this is left to their authors.

OpenPCI has been designed as a rather straightworward and simple
PCI layer, with contiguous address spaces, and PCI IO space
addresses being identical for CPU and PCI chips. OS4 PCI API
is superior to OpenPCI in many areas, like full virtualized
address space support, scatter / gather etc.

OpenPCI for OS4 is thus a wrapper from the OpenPCI API to
expansion.library calls, with the necessary features to take into
account the 'simpler' OpenPCI architecture, which assumes for example,
that the CPU can access ordinary RAM buffers through the PCI I/O
space's access functions... (namely In|Out Byte|Word|Long)...

Being a wrapper, OpenPCI only supports the PCI buses supported
within expansion.library itself. Thus, as there is currently no
support for anything else than the AmigaOne PCI buses in
expansion.library, the current OpenPCI.library is only for the
AmigaOne. If support for mediator or prometheus or grex etc. is
added in expansion.library, OpenPCI will also be usable on
classic Amigas. 

(last minute note : it seems that prometheus 
support has been added to expansion.library lately so I could
release a version that would run on prometheus-equipped classics
too... will check).


Installation
============
Just copy OpenPCI.library to LIBS:, and download and install the
68K versions of the OpenPCI drivers and applications you want to run.


What runs and what does not (yet :)
===================================
Tested & working on my A1G4XE :
 - OpenPCIInfo 1.4
   http://bvernoux.free.fr/OpenPciInfo1.4.lha
   grab : http://s.guillard.free.fr/OS4/opci.jpg

 - AmithlonTV (tested with a BT878 Hauppauge board)
   http://www.vmc.de/amithlon/amithlontv/swr/AmithlonTVBeta.lha
   grab : http://s.guillard.free.fr/OS4/amithlontv.jpg
	
 - 10/100 Mb/s RTL8139 Ethernet driver (tested with roadshow)
   http://bvernoux.free.fr/openpci_8139Device110305.zip
   Note : AddNetInterface mentions unfreed signal after
   adding the interface, with no consequence.
   grab : http://s.guillard.free.fr/OS4/rtl8139.jpg

Tested & not working (yet) :
 - ArakAttack (USB/USB2 driver) & Poseidon
   ArakAttack crashes on startup with NULL pointer access after
   unsuccessfully opening amithlon.resource ; workaround
   in process.

Not tested (yet) :
 - Fortemedia FM801 (Terratec 512i) 16bits AHI driver 
   http://bvernoux.free.fr/OP-FM801v0.9b-68k210503.lha

 - AHI latest Release with OpenPCI SBLive driver included
   http://www.lysator.liu.se/~lcs/files/ahi/beta/

 - Chris Hordge's (platon42) OpenPCI/Zorro Catweasel MK3 keyboard Driver 
   http://www.platon42.de/files/util/CW-Keyboard.lha

 - Catweasel universal floppy disk controller (OpenPCI driver for Catweasel
   MK3/MK4 PCI/Flipper (Achim Dahlhoff and Jens Schönfeld)
   http://siliconsonic.de/t/bin/multidisk365.lha