Slackware ARM / AArch64 Kernel Module Loader

May 2021 This is a place holder - the documentation for this part of Slackware ARM has yet to be written.

However, it is explained in two videos from the Slackware ARM podcast.

Part 1 of 2 Part 2 of 2

Only works over UART/Serial port because the 1st stage opens prior to any modules being loaded. This generally precludes the use of HCI (Human Computer Interaction) peripherals such as keyboards and monitors.

/load_kernel_modules

The RPi4 is an example - provide link to it.

hwm_hook_pre-modload hwm_hook_post-modload

[code]

    # Define a function to run from the OS InitRD's '/init' immediately prior
    # to switching into the Slackware OS proper.
    # This is after any software RAID arrays et al have been initialised.
    # There's no current use case for this, but it may be useful in the future.
    #
    # At this stage, the following paths for Slackware OS are mounted:
    # /proc, /sys, /run, /dev
    # The root file system ('/') is mounted under /mnt
    #
    #function hwm_hook_pre_switch_root() {
    #  echo "Just about to switch into the Slackware OS proper, leaving the OS InitRD"
    #  sleep 4
    #}

and user locally defined hook_pre_switch_root

[/code]

doinst.sh calls

• os-initrd-mgr(8) (link to video) -
• Any helper scripts named 'pkg-kernel-*' found within /boot/platform/$ARCH/helper/. This enables handling any Hardware Model idiosyncrasies, such as in the case of the Raspberry Pi the Kernel et al from the standard OS location /boot, are duplicated onto the RPi's Hardware Model Boot Ware partition (/boot/platform/hwm_bw) to enable the use of the RPi's native Boot Loader.