DEC OSF/1: Writing Device Drivers

This volume is an introductory guide for systems engineers on creating device drivers for the DEC OSF/1 operating system. It provides essential information on:

• Driver Concepts: Basic understanding of device drivers, their purpose, and their role within the OSF/1 kernel environment.
• Design & Development: Guidance on gathering information, designing drivers, and understanding CPU architecture influences (e.g., 32-bit vs. 64-bit issues, memory barriers).
• Structure & Implementation: Detailed breakdown of the sections of character and block device drivers, including include files, declarations, autoconfiguration support, open/close interfaces, read/write sections, and IOCTLs.
• Hardware Interface: How drivers interface with hardware components and buses, specifically using TURBOchannel examples.
• Kernel Interfaces: Common kernel-related interfaces, memory management, and DMA operations.
• Configuration Models: Explanation and procedures for both third-party and traditional configuration models to integrate drivers into the system.

The book includes two primary coding examples: /dev/none (a simple character driver) and /dev/cb (a real-device character driver for a TURBOchannel test board).