Date: Thu, 16 May 1996 15:07:15 -0700
From: pt@jadeite (Paul Thomas)
Subject: Item #358: Generic Names RP: Don't reserve names


P1275 Openboot Working Group Proposal -- Proposal #:358 Ver 1

Title:          Don't reserve non-comma names

Author:         Paul Thomas

Date:           May 16, 1996

Ed/Tech:        Technical

Synopsis:       Don't reserve device names that do not have a comma

Doc & Version:  Generic Names, ver 1.1

Problem:        The Generic Names document says "Device names that
do not have a comma are reserved for the Open Firmware Working Group."
This conflicts with existing cards and systems, as well as with the
usage desired by some people at Sun.

In particular, many devices in existing systems, as well as names on
existing plug-in cards, do not have a comma in their names.  It is
currently recommended by some folks at Sun that a device, especially an
on-board device or a device that has a known parent with a name that
includes the manufacturer and a comma, _not_ include the manufacturer
or a comma.  Instead, the system software essentially relies on
inheriting the manufacturer information from a parent device if it is
necessary to obtain it.  In exchange, the full device path becomes
shorter and more manageable -- redundant manufacturer information is
removed.  The Generic Names document would create a conflict with this
usage.

There is no particularly good reason to reserve any names beyond what
have already been reserved by the core document and other approved,
related standards.

A non-normative document cannot make a reservation on behalf of the
committee.


Proposal:       In the Recommended Practice: Generic Names, vers 1.1,
p5, l9-10, remove the sentence starting with "Device names that do not..."

p5, l14-16, remove this paragraph.


[ P1275 Item #358 -- Received: Thu May 16 15:05:26 PDT 1996 ]