RTEMS Intel i386 Applications Supplement
This initialization code is responsible for initializing all data structures required by the i386 in protected mode and for actually entering protected mode. The i386 must be placed in protected mode and the segment registers and associated selectors must be initialized before the initialize_executive directive is invoked.
The initialization code is responsible for initializing the Global Descriptor Table such that the i386 is in the thirty-two bit flat memory model with paging disabled. In this mode, the i386 automatically converts every address from a logical to a physical address each time it is used. For more information on the memory model used by RTEMS, please refer to the Memory Model chapter in this document.
Since the processor is in real mode upon reset, the processor must be switched to protected mode before RTEMS can execute. Before switching to protected mode, at least one descriptor table and two descriptors must be created. Descriptors are needed for a code segment and a data segment. ( This will give you the flat memory model.) The stack can be placed in a normal read/write data segment, so no descriptor for the stack is needed. Before the GDT can be used, the base address and limit must be loaded into the GDTR register using an LGDT instruction.
If the hardware allows an NMI to be generated, you need to create the IDT and a gate for the NMI interrupt handler. Before the IDT can be used, the base address and limit for the idt must be loaded into the IDTR register using an LIDT instruction.
Protected mode is entered by setting thye PE bit in the CR0 register. Either a LMSW or MOV CR0 instruction may be used to set this bit. Because the processor overlaps the interpretation of several instructions, it is necessary to discard the instructions from the read-ahead cache. A JMP instruction immediately after the LMSW changes the flow and empties the processor if intructions which have been pre-fetched and/or decoded. At this point, the processor is in protected mode and begins to perform protected mode application initialization.
If the application requires that the IDTR be some value besides zero, then it should set it to the required value at this point. All tasks share the same i386 IDTR value. Because interrupts are enabled automatically by RTEMS as part of the initialize_executive directive, the IDTR MUST be set properly before this directive is invoked to insure correct interrupt vectoring. If processor caching is to be utilized, then it should be enabled during the reset application initialization code. The reset code which is executed before the call to initialize_executive has the following requirements:
For more information regarding the i386s data structures and their contents, refer to Intel's 386 Programmer's Reference Manual.
RTEMS Intel i386 Applications Supplement
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