Re: CPU specific binaries
I dont know a great deal about how the debian source packageing is done, but
with the enough distribution, they say you use automake to genrate your
Makefile and compile your binaries from source.
I would have thought that this would be fairly easy to do with linux because
all the src packages should be setup a standard way. I guess it would
require a script to make changes to the makefiles as necessary, before
compilation.
Ive as yet not tried to compile with cpu specific options, i hadent
considered wether compiling with different CPU options would introduce
compile errors.
>From what ive gathered from being on debian lists for a few days.
1. One of debians main goals is to support the lowest level of available
hardware
2. Distribution size is limited packages that have a low low utility/size
ratio are shunned.... archive bloat
So i guess the most acceptable way would be to make a tool that makes it
easy for the end user to recompile it themselves from the src. .
It could be done as a seperate distribution based on debian src packages,
but independent from debian org
<RANT MODE>
Debian is the most altruistic distro there is however if my constructive
criticism is worth anything then i say.
The strength of open source is that you CAN customise it to your needs, you
can optimise it for your specific CPU, so if users can't optimise there
binaries for there CPU, then open source is being used to its fullest
potential.
Why let a whole new breed of distro's like (mandrake and enoch) pop up when
there one good feature could be implemented by debian.
Archive bloat.... i thought debian was about giving the user the choice of
what they wanted rather them presenting them with subset of whats available.
I feel silly even sugesting this, but why not have official binaries for
other cpu's, its the only way they would get widespread use.
Possible reasons
1) Archive bloat
Storage is cheap ($22 per GB where i am), mirrors should be able to handle
this, thats what there all about.
CD's are cheap, a coupla dollars
2) Bandwidth of mirrors
Mirrors could JUST mirror the 386 packages if they didnt consider others
worthy, its there choice
</RANT MODE>
Subject: Re: CPU specific binaries
> I'm a sysadmin who also would be interested in recompiling to optimise for
> specific CPUs. As far as I can make out, to do this I have to download
> source and edit the debain/rules and/or Makefile of each package to pass
the
> appropriate optimisation flags to the compiler, then rebuild the package.
>
> Then I have to deal with any errors I've introduced.
>
> There has to be a better way of doing this. Am I missing something?
>
> What is needed is a switch when invoking the build process or a
configuration
> file on the system somewhere that says "I'd like to optimise this package
for
> a 486/P5/K6/whatever". The package build process could (optionally) check
for
> this and pass all the appropriate optimisation options.
>
> If something like this existed, I'd use it. It would also make it easy to
> create 3'rd party optimised debian distros.
>
> Alex King
>
>
> On Tue, Oct 19, 1999 at 02:48:04PM -0400, Kalen wrote:
> > On Tue, 19 Oct 1999, Darren O. Benham wrote:
> > > > I would have thought that it would be fairly easy to change the
compile
> > > > option in the debian source packages (im not very familiar with the
format)
> > > > so it would be easy to make cpu specific builds of debian.
> > >
> > > It depends.. if you are suggesting that Debian only support a small
class
> > > of CPUs, yes. You are offtrack. Debian is specificly trying to
support
> > > 486 computers as well as the newer stuff.
> > >
> > > If, on the other hand, you're talking about doing something for
yourself or
> > > for some derived distribution... more power to you...
> >
> > On that topic, what is the optons at compile time to optimize a pkg for
a
> > specific CPU? Or do I need a utility for that? Or am I completly off
base
> > and the standard "make" will do that for me of my system only for my
CPU?
> >
>
>
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