On 02/14/2011 06:14 PM, Joe Buck wrote:
On Mon, Feb 14, 2011 at 05:57:13PM -0800, Paul Koning wrote:
It seems that this proposal would benefit programs that need more than 2 GB but
less than 4 GB, and for some reason really don't want 64 bit pointers.
This seems like a microscopically small market segment. I can't see any sense
in such an effort.
I remember the RHEL hugemem patch being a big deal for lots of their
customers, so a process could address the full 4GB instead of only 3GB
on a 32-bit machine. If I recall correctly, upstream didn't want it
(get a 64-bit machine!) but lots of paying customers clamored for it.
(I personally don't have an opinion on whether it's worth bothering with).
Also look at the new x86_64 ABI (See all those X32 psABI messages) that
the Intel folks are actively working on. This proposal is very similar
to what they are doing.
David Daney
