ACPICA version 20090903 released

[Moore, Robert]

03 September 2009. Summary of changes for version 20090903:

This release is available at www.acpica.org/downloads

1) ACPI CA Core Subsystem:

For Windows Vista compatibility, added the automatic execution of an _INI method located at the namespace root (\_INI). This method is executed at table load time. This support is in addition to the automatic execution of \_SB._INI. Lin Ming.

Fixed a possible memory leak in the interpreter for AML package objects if the package initializer list is longer than the defined size of the package. This apparently can only happen if the BIOS changes the package size on the fly (seen in a _PSS object), as ASL compilers do not allow this. The interpreter will truncate the package to the defined size (and issue an error message), but previously could leave the extra objects undeleted if they were pre-created during the argument processing (such is the case if the package consists of a number of sub-packages as in the _PSS.) ACPICA BZ 805.

Fixed a problem seen when a Buffer or String is stored to itself via ASL. This has been reported in the field. Previously, ACPICA would zero out the buffer/string. Now, the operation is treated as a noop. Provides Windows compatibility. ACPICA BZ 803. Lin Ming.

Removed an extraneous error message for ASL constructs of the form Store(LocalX,LocalX) when LocalX is uninitialized. These curious statements are seen in many BIOSs and are once again treated as NOOPs and no error is emitted when they are encountered. ACPICA BZ 785.

Fixed an extraneous warning message if a _DSM reserved method returns a Package object. _DSM can return any type of object, so validation on the return type cannot be performed. ACPICA BZ 802.

Example Code and Data Size: These are the sizes for the OS-independent acpica.lib produced by the Microsoft Visual C++ 6.0 32-bit compiler. The debug version of the code includes the debug output trace mechanism and has a much larger code and data size.

  Previous Release:
    Non-Debug Version:  85.5K Code, 18.0K Data, 103.5K Total
    Debug Version:     161.6K Code, 50.9K Data, 212.5K Total
  Current Release:
    Non-Debug Version:  85.6K Code, 18.0K Data, 103.6K Total
    Debug Version:     161.7K Code, 50.9K Data, 212.6K Total

2) iASL Compiler/Disassembler and Tools:

iASL: Fixed a problem with the use of the Alias operator and Resource Templates. The correct alias is now constructed and no error is emitted. ACPICA BZ 738.

iASL: Implemented the -I option to specify additional search directories for include files. Allows multiple additional search paths for include files. Directories are searched in the order specified on the command line (after the local directory is searched.) ACPICA BZ 800.

iASL: Fixed a problem where the full pathname for include files was not emitted for warnings/errors. This caused the IDE support to not work properly. ACPICA BZ 765.

iASL: Implemented the -@ option to specify a Windows-style response file containing additional command line options. ACPICA BZ 801.

AcpiExec: Added support to load multiple AML files simultaneously (such as a DSDT and multiple SSDTs). Also added support for wildcards within the AML pathname. These features allow all machine tables to be easily loaded and debugged together. ACPICA BZ 804.

Disassembler: Added missing support for disassembly of HEST table Error Bank subtables.