Re: Memory Rusting Effect [re: Linux hostile to poverty]

Stefan Traby (stefan@sime.com)
Tue, 21 Jul 1998 14:32:08 +0200

> I'm not sure how you would handle FPU code if the module couldn't be loaded.
> I guess you could alwas kill the process with a SIGILL or something, doesn't
> seem like a very nice solution.

BTW: my mom always said "Don't use floating-point code in kernel." ;-}

Compile drivers/scsi/scsi_debug.c after defining "SCSI_DATARATE" and
"SCSI_SETUP_LATENCY".

This generates floating-point code in kernel, on intel something like:

fldl .LC25
fmulp %st,%st(1)
fldl .LC26
fdivr %st,%st(1)

What's happen now ? request_module(...) in kernel's SIGILL handler ?
Failed ? Press the magic red button, and generally don't boot with
init=/usr/bin/porvray again. :-}

I think there are far many more reasons not to modularize FP-emulation.

-- 
  ciao - 
    Stefan


Stefan Traby                            phone:  +43-3133-6107-2
Mitterlasznitzstr. 13                     fax:  +43-3133-6107-9
8302 Nestelbach                        mailto://stefan@sime.com
Austria


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