Re: [PATCH] new makefile for fbcon

Alan Cox (alan@lxorguk.ukuu.org.uk)
Sat, 13 Nov 1999 00:40:26 +0000 (GMT)


> Besides (ignoring for a moment that the use of gcc and gmake is _ABSOLUTELY_
> unrelated) the fact that kernel can only be compiled with GCC has repeatedly
> been recognized by various people as contraproductive, since you

Only one bunch of people have ever moved Linux to a non gcc compiler.
Irrespective of stuff like makefiles its _very_ hard. I know, Im the nutter
who started Linux 8086, thankfully Alistair Riddoch took it over and is
even crazier.

Linux requires inline assembler, and compiler ways of specifying alignment
rules on a per struct field basis. It makes use of a whole pile of preprocessor
and other stuff that quite frankly is simply essential and not portable
across compilers.

> a) Can not use better-optimizing compilers from hardware vendors (like Compaq
> on Alpha systems or possibly SUN on SPARC)

They won't make much difference if any. All the kernel hot spots are hand
tuned. We in places tune the C to get the code we want out of gcc - things
like branch order

Alan

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