bootstrap
<operating system, compiler> To load and initialise the operating system
on a computer. Normally abbreviated to "boot". From the curious expression "to
pull oneself up by one's bootstraps", one of the legendary feats of Baron von
Munchhausen. The bootstrap loader is the program that runs on the computer
before any (normal) program can run. Derived terms include reboot, cold boot,
warm boot, soft boot and hard boot.
The term also applies to the use of a compiler to compile itself. The usual
process is to write an interpreter for a language, L, in some other existing
language. The compiler is then written in L and the interpreter is used to run
it. This produces an executable for compiling programs in L from the source of
the compiler in L. This technique is often used to verify the correctness of a
compiler. It was first used in the LISP community.
See also My Favourite Toy Language.
[Jargon File]
(2005-04-12)
Nearby terms:
boot disk « booting « BOOTP « bootstrap »
bootstrap loader » boot virus » Border Gateway
Protocol
bootstrap loader
<operating system> A short program loaded from non-volatile storage and
used to bootstrap a computer.
On early computers great efforts were expended on making the bootstrap loader
short, in order to make it easy to toggle in via the front panel switches. It
was just clever enough to read in a slightly more complex program (usually from
punched cards or paper tape), to which it handed control. This program in turn
read the application or operating system from a magnetic tape drive or disk
drive. Thus, in successive steps, the computer "pulled itself up by its
bootstraps" to a useful operating state.
Nowadays the bootstrap loader is usually found in ROM or EPROM, and reads the
first stage in from a fixed location on the disk, called the "boot block". When
this program gains control, it is powerful enough to load the actual OS and hand
control over to it. A diskless workstation can use bootp to load its OS from the
network.
(2005-04-12)
Nearby terms:
booting « BOOTP « bootstrap « bootstrap loader
» boot virus » Border Gateway Protocol » borf
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