[RFC] Dropping Alpha sparse mapping support from X

[Michael]

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Hello,

On Sep 4, 2009, at 6:04 PM, Maciej W. Rozycki wrote:

> On Thu, 3 Sep 2009, Matt Turner wrote:
>
>> I'd like to drop support for non-BWX Alphas (EV4 and original EV5)
>> from X. These machines can't load/store to single bytes and require
>> special sparse memory mappings.
>>
>> The code required to select which functions (sparse, dense) is
>> convoluted, adds an extra layer of indirection, probably gets close  
>> to
>> zero usage, and even less testing.
>>
>> Does anyone use X on EV4 or EV5 (not EV56, EV56 has BWX)?
>
> What's the problem with making it a build-time option?  You may inline
> the indirection based on a macro or suchlike and keep the more  
> complicated
> code for a reference, even if you don't get any bug reports for a  
> while
> (perhaps the code is perfect? ;) ).  Linux is probably going to  
> support
> pre-BWX machines as long as the Alpha port itself and you may have
> troubles reaching all the interested users, especially as not everyone
> makes frequent upgrades.

Same with NetBSD, we will probably support these machines as long as  
anyone can be arsed to play portmaster.

have fun
Michael

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