Re: What architecture are we?
> It doesn't make much sense to optimize code for i386 when relatively
> few people run i386 machines. I'd suspect the most common
> architecture is i586 now. In addition, i486-optimized binaries
> produced by gcc are somewhat bloated. So, it's probably best to
> optimize for the i586 as long as it remains compatible with i386
> machines.
I agree with your reasoning, but I don't put that much faith in the
compiler. I figure that if I say to gcc, "optimize for the Pentium"
then gcc is free to use all instructions available on a Pentium. We
assume that later generation chips will not remove instructions (or at
least seamlessly emulate removed instructions), but some instructions
may not exist on older generation chips.
Thus, barring a guarantee from the compiler guys, if Debian supports
the i386 then everything should be optimized for "i386".
Brian
( bcwhite@verisim.com )
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