Javascript and hardware detection

[Mithun Bhattacharya <mithun.b@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I need to make a web based interface which if possible should capture
all the known hardware in a workstation. I know this is a highly OS
dependent thing but if anyone has ever worked on something similar or
has any pointers it would be highly appreciated.

RedHat usually has a file : /etc/sysconfig/hwconf which is more than
sufficient for my use but can I actually read a file on the hard disk
using Javascript ???

What about the other distributions - Debian, SuSE ... - is there anyway
to know what all devices have been detected by the OS ??

I guess I can even live with the output of /proc/pci but can that be at
all read using Javascript ??

I would prefer not to use Java but if anyone is aware of any piece of
code which works both on Linux and Windows I would really like to know.

As for windows I guess there are ways to read the registry but I am
totally clue less as to what those ways are. Anyone any pointers ???



Mithun