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Diffstat (limited to 'tasks')
| -rw-r--r-- | tasks | 169 |
1 files changed, 169 insertions, 0 deletions
@@ -0,0 +1,169 @@ +GNU Hurd Task List Version 1.15. Last updated 13 July 1996. + +If you would like to work on one of these, please contact +mib@gnu.ai.mit.edu. It's important that you let me know what's being +worked on, because someone else might also be interested, and you +should coordinate work. + +Items that we want done with more priority are marked with !!!. + + + +General system work + + * Compile all the free programs you can find to help us fix bugs in + the system, and to submit necessary ports to the maintainers of + those programs. A good place to start is the list in SOURCES under + the heading `Give up'. + + * See how much of X compiles. + + * Do whatever magic is necessary for Perl to take advantage of all + the nifty Hurd features that Unix doesn't have. + + + +Mach 3.0 Work + +If you plan to work on the microkernel, you should be on the mailing list +for the University of Utah's Mach4 distribution; that is the microkernel +distribution that GNU will use. To get on the mailing list, send mail to +mach4-users-request@schirf.cs.utah.edu. You should discuss proposed +microkernel work there as well as with mib@gnu.ai.mit.edu. + +!!! + * Mach 3.0 needs many new device drivers for popular PC devices. + Shantanu Goel at Utah is doing work in this area; coordinate with him. + +!!! + * A replacement for MiG that understood C .h files. + Utah is working on a new IDL compiler; coordinate with them. + + * Bootstrap tools and documentation to help people set up Mach 3.0 + machines if they already have Linux; if they already have Net BSD; + if they don't have anything. (See Utah Lites dist.) + +!!! + * Mach 3.0 needs to provide support for task virtual timers similar + in functionality to the Unix ITIMER_PROF and ITIMER_VIRTUAL timers. + +!!! + * Mach 3.0 needs to provide a way for users to do statistical PC + profiling similar to the Unix profil system call. + +!!! + * Mach 3.0 needs to make switches from MEMORY_OBJECT_COPY_DELAY to + MEMORY_OBJECT_COPY_NONE have the effect of immediately completing any + delayed copies. + + * Mach 3.0 needs a facility to automatically send task and thread + status on task/thread exit to a port that can only be changed by + a privileged user; this would be used to implement process + accounting. + + * Mach 3.0 needs a facility to find out what task is the parent of + a given task. + + * Mach 3.0 needs a facility to find out which pages of a task's + address space are in core to implement Unix's mincore call. + + * Mach 3.0 needs a facility to do msync. + + * Utah Mach needs the OSF vm_remap call. + + * Mach 3.0 needs a replacement for MEMORY_OBJECT_COPY_CALL that + works at least for the cases needed in ordinary files. (Write mib if + you want to know what the problem is and some ideas about how to + solve it.) + +!!! + * Mach 3.0 needs proxy memory objects. (mib can tell you what these + are and why they are important.) + + * Mach 3.0 needs a way to do per-task resource counters that are + accessible to servers called by the task. + + * Mach 3.0 should keep a timestamp of the creation of each task. + + * Mach 3.0 needs facilities to implement resource limits of various sorts. + + * Mach 3.0 needs a way to have a thread's CPU time statistics + include time spent by servers on its behalf. [This has been done + for the migrating-threads version of Mach; talk to mib before starting + work on it.] + + * Of course, free ports are always necessary to machines that don't + already have free ports. + + * Much work can be done doing research in how to improve Mach VM + performance and timesharing scheduling policy. + +!!! + * We need a good malloc for multi-threaded programs that uses + vm_allocate. It should probably be based on the current GNU malloc, + as well as merge the mmalloc interfaces used by some existing GNU + packages. + + * Mach 3.0 needs facilities to get a list of all the devices which + can be device_open'd, as well as to get the type of a device. + + * A way to have the kernel send a message on some designated port + everytime a new task is started. + + * OSF has enhanced the exception_raise protocol to include thread_state + information. This code should be merged into the kernel; OSF people + have said their could could be released to the public (but it has not + appeared). + + * Implement TASK_EVENTS_INFO. + + * Add a timestamp for task and thread creation to the relevant info + structures (and make sure it works for the kernel task and threads). + + +Hurd work (these are brief descriptions; mib can give more information): + +!!! + * An RPC trace program to aid debugging. Ask roland for more info. + + * Programs that use utmp need to be changed to use /utmp and utmp.defs. + + * We need some standard translators for /utmp nodes; most importantly + one for ordinary terminals (set up by login) and one for X displays + (set up by xdm). + +!!! + * We need some existing shell programs changed to do Hurd things: + like id, su, ls, tar, cpio, etc. + + * Handy shell programs to send msgport msgs, and change default init + ports and ints. + + * Shadow directory translators. + + * A system for write, send, talkd and so forth to bleep users; + this should be integrated with the utmp replacement above. + + * X. (Porting XFree86 should not be hard.) + + * A filesystem for /tmp that uses virtual memory instead of disk. + (Roland has some ideas about this.) + + * Filesystem implementations (using libdiskfs) for other popular + formats. Importantly, MSDOS FAT format. + + + * Transparent FTP translator. + + * A fancy terminal driver that uses readline and supports detach/attach. + + * A notepad program to hold and keep track of ports for shell scripts. + + + +C library work. See roland@gnu.ai.mit.edu if you are interested in working +on anything in the C library. + + * Useful response to SIGINFO. + + * Better integration with cthreads. |