Date: Fri, 26 Apr 96 19:08:33 PDT
From: wmb@FirmWorks.COM (Mitch Bradley)
Subject: Item #354: PPC/PReP: Halt-address is dead; long live RTAS

P1275 Open Firmware Working Group Proposal -- Proposal #354 Ver 0

Title:		Lose the halt-address stuff

Author:		Mitch Bradley

Date:		April 26, 1996

Ed/Tech:	Technical

Synopsis:	halt-address missed the boat

Doc & Version:	PR*P Binding 0.02 DRAFT

Problem:

The halt-address property is not widely implemented, and is superseded
in CHRP systems by RTAS.  At this point, as systems migrate from PR*P
to CHRP, it makes sense to drop the requirement for halt-address so as
to avoid wasting engineering efforts that could be better employed in
implementing and using RTAS.

Proposal:

If there is ever another version of the PR*P binding document, replace
sections 4 ("Properties) and 5. ("Client Program Requirements") in their
entirety with:

	4. Halt/Reboot

	The "halt procedure" feature defined in earlier versions of this
	binding has been deleted in this version in favor of a similar
	service provided by the "RTAS" services defined by the CHRP binding.
	PR*P firmware that wishes to provide a reboot service that will work
	after an operating system has rendered the Open Firmware client
	interface inoperable should implement the RTAS "reboot" service.

Also add a reference to the CHRP binding in the references section.

If there is not to be another version of the PR*P binding, issue a working
group resolution recommending that RTAS be implemented instead of the halt
procedure stuff, and publish that resolution as a note on the web page,
next to the reference to the PR*P binding.

[ P1275 Item #354 -- Received: Fri Apr 26 19:05:31 PDT 1996 ]