I really don't have any background information. This post is just
inference, from the function definitions.
2008/12/27 Robert P. J. Day <rpjday@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>:
> unsigned char read8(void* address)
> {
> return *((unsigned char*) address);
> }
As you can see, this function reads from a *memory* address. This
would be useful for memory mapped IO. The address is a part of the
address space of the processor.
>
> normal kernel source provides the universal primitives inb(), inw(),
> inl(), outb(), outw() and outl(), no? shouldn't one expect to have
These functions work on IO-ports; port numbers form a part of the
16-bit addressable IO-space of a processor.
Having a common interface for read8(), write8(), etc, could simplify
changes to the code, to make them work on different endian machines.
--
Vimal
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