hello: Thanks for the info; I think my biggest issue is I really don't have systems with serial ports. Has anyone played with netconsole? apparently you can hook a system up over a crossover cable and send messages to it, but I'm not sure how well it works. On another unrelated note, I'm curious how you managed to install BSD; did you do something without a serial install? On 9/16/2012 10:31 PM, Brian Buhrow wrote: > Hello. If you want to know how Speakup might work in user-space, check > out yasr, which is a completely user-space based screen reader. I use it > every day under NetBSD, where it works wonderfully. > As far as kernel programming goes, see if you can find some books on > the topic, read kernel code, and learn how to generate and use crash dumps > so you can do post mortoms on kernels after they crash. Learn how to set > up a serial console since it will let you see panics as they happen, and, > if you have two machines, learn how to set up and use kgdb, the in-kernel > gdb debugger. > Kernel code isn't that much different from regular code, both should > be easy to read, as efficient as possible without being convoluted, and as > well tested and bullet proof as possible. > Good luck, and happy hacking! > On Sep 16, 12:17pm, "Littlefield, Tyler" wrote: > } Subject: speakup todo? > } Hello all: > } I'm trying to transfer, and applying for scholarships and all that I'd > } like to be able to make some contributions to projects that I can note. > } I'm interested in learning more about kernel programming, and I figured > } I'd start by working on something I use almost daily. I'm curious then > } if there's some sort of todo or improvements speakup could have to it. > } I'd also be curious if someone has thought about moving it to > } userspace--as far as I know, the only thing that we really need the > } kernel for would be hardware speech (and since serial ports are dying > } out that could be a dead point), and accessing the console directly. How > } easy would it be then, to have speakup run in userspace, but access a > } smaller cut-down version of itself in the kernel to provide the access > } to the console we need? > } We could use sequence files and access the console through /proc. It > } could return a file of 2-byte chars, which I believe is how it works > } now--one byte is the color, and the other byte is the ascii value. The > } sequence file would just iterate over the console's lines. I'm also > } curious how we'd handle something like key presses like caps+u to move > } up a line etc. > } > } If I'm way off here, I'd still like to help out if possible; is there a > } todo list around, or stuff people would like to see done? If there are > } people willing to answer questions from time to time in terms of the > } kernel programming, since that's something I've not done before, I'm > } game to start coding. > } > } Another question is then, how do people catch panics? Since I'm not > } quite cool enough to write code that just works, I'm sure I'll be > } dealing with panics, but I can't see them on the console and usually > } it's when speakup goes boom anyway. > } > } -- > } Take care, > } Ty > } http://tds-solutions.net > } The aspen project: a barebones light-weight mud engine: > } http://code.google.com/p/aspenmud > } He that will not reason is a bigot; he that cannot reason is a fool; he that dares not reason is a slave. > } > } _______________________________________________ > } Speakup mailing list > } Speakup at braille.uwo.ca > } http://speech.braille.uwo.ca/mailman/listinfo/speakup >> -- End of excerpt from "Littlefield, Tyler" > > _______________________________________________ > Speakup mailing list > Speakup at braille.uwo.ca > http://speech.braille.uwo.ca/mailman/listinfo/speakup -- Take care, Ty http://tds-solutions.net The aspen project: a barebones light-weight mud engine: http://code.google.com/p/aspenmud He that will not reason is a bigot; he that cannot reason is a fool; he that dares not reason is a slave.
