Re: AMD64 howto for mere mortals
Well, what I'm saying is that I'm willing to do the bulk of the
writing but I'd like a more technically capable person than me looking
over my shoulder to make sure I'm not putting out bad info. I also
need someone who I can rely on to bounce questions off of. Here's
what I have written so far:
AMD64 HOWTO for non-developers
A word about 64 bit software
============================
Microprocessor manufacturers often differentiate their chips from the
competition's by advertising the number of bits its internal, integer
registers can handle. As a result, most of are fully aware that 32
bit chips are faster than 16 bit chips and that 16 bit chips are, in
turn, faster than 8 bit chips. Recently, 64 bit architectures have
grown in popularity and are on track to eventually replace the 32 bit
machines we have come to know and love.
While it's certainly true 64 bit chips can process data faster than a
32 bit machine, that's only half of the story. For the complete
picture, we need to also look at the software running on our machines.
You can't simply drop an IndyCar class engine into a Ford Pinto and
expect full race car performance. If you're going to use a 64 bit
chip, you'll want software specifically designed to take full
advantage of the machine's improved capabilities. Thankfully, some
good folks working for the Debian project have ported the latest
Debian distribution, Sarge, so it can take full advantage of 64 bit
architectures..
AMD's approach to dealing with 32 bit software
==============================================
AMD has designed their 64 bit chips so that they can run older 32 bit
applications. In other words, these chips are backward compatible.
On 9/28/05, Frederik Schueler <fs@lowpingbastards.de> wrote:
> Hello,
>
> On Wed, Sep 28, 2005 at 04:49:23AM -0400, Steve Dondley wrote:
> > I've read the AMD64 howto but don't quite grasp
> > all of it. It's more geared to the development community.
>
> Patches and comments are always welcome.
>
> Best regards
> Frederik Schueler
>
> --
> ENOSIG
>
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--
Dondley Communications
http://www.dondleycommunications.com
Communicate or Die: American Labor Unions and the Internet
http://www.communicateordie.com
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