Re: libmoto PowerPC-optimized math library?
On Thu, Aug 17, 2000 at 12:50:04AM -0700, C.M. Connelly wrote:
> The problem for Debian, of course, is the license and the lack of
> source code. Things have changed a lot since 1996, and I wonder
> if Motorola might be more sympathetic to the idea of opening up
> the source code for the libmoto. Ideally, the Motorola code could
> be integrated into the glibc math library, replacing the old,
> unoptimized functions.
The licensing problem has been attacked from inside Motorola on several
occasions. The most recent attempt by several PowerPC Linux developers
(who have since left Moto) failed regardless of the value to Motorola
groups that depend on optimized Linux for embedded products.
I happened to be involved and talked to some management in Mot. Semi
who couldn't do anything about it but suggested that they would look
the other way if someone reverse engineered the library. All the
math routines are assembly code so it's not difficult (only
time-consuming) to strip the library apart and produce a source
available version.
Just my two cents,
--
Matt Porter
porter@debian.org
Who else feels dirty after working on x86 machines?
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