[TUHS] the device tree, hardware, and kernels.

[ron minnich via TUHS]

I'm trying to refresh my memory on something.

The first machines to have a device tree were, .. Sun 4/Power/Mac? Of
these, which was first, first?

The intent of the device tree was to be embedded in a ROM (or writable ROM)
such that a kernel could figure out properties of hardware, as I recall.

Is this even vaguely correct? It seems to track with my current digging.

The reason I ask: somehow, the device tree is now something that gets
packaged with the kernel, which seems a violation of its purpose. But, for
example, linux kexec on risc-v will fail (EINVAL) if it is not passed a
device tree. The Image struct for arm and riscv usually has a device tree
at the front. And the risc-v linux source includes a bunch of device trees.
For some boards, there is more than one choice, and if you pick the wrong
one, you get a brick.

Was the device tree a Mitch Bradley thing?