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NuBus Declaration ROM

Q: I am building a data-acquisition card that requires one driver in the system folder. Compared to a video card, this card is very simple, but it has to identify itself to the Slot Manager.

Should I put the driver into a system extension which would scan for the card at startup, or would it be better to have the code in the declaration ROM on the card tell the startup manager to load and execute the driver from the System folder?

A: The Slot Manager needs to see the declaration ROM in order to recognize your card and your driver. A video device is a special case, because the video driver is loaded before the file system becomes available. That's why video cards must have the driver in the declaration ROM.

There is sample code for a NuBus declaration ROM on the March 95 Developer CD. There is also quite a bit of detailed information regarding NuBus declaration-ROM code in Designing Cards and Drivers for the Macintosh Family, Third Edition.

[May 01 1995]

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