On 23/08/15 22:12, Walter Bright wrote:
On 8/23/2015 11:42 AM, deadalnix wrote:
No, x32 is basically amd64 with 32 bits pointers. You can use all other
functions of amd64, like the extended number of registers.
Makes sense.
At least right now, it sounds more useful than it actually is.
Since this is a different ABI, it actually requires its own version of
the libraries of everything, kernel support, etc. As of now, no one
seriously uses it, and the cost of carrying two ABIs doesn't make it
plausible, in my opinion, that this will change in the future.
To add insult to injury, Debian switched it off in their default kernel
compilation, as they claim they don't want the extra exposure to
security exploit through code the few test (this has saved them from at
least one kernel security vulnerability since that decision was taken).
Also, I haven't seen any hard numbers as far as how much, if at all,
this saves in space (likely a little) and in runtime efficiency (likely
even less). If these are as compelling as I expect them to be, expect
this platform to die without gaining much traction.
Shachar
The difference between theory and practice is that, in theory, there is
no difference between theory and practice.
-- Yoggi Berra
