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Re: RFC: Cygwin 64 bit?


On Jun 26 21:14, Andy Koppe wrote:
> On 26 June 2011 12:45, Corinna Vinschen wrote:
> > I'm not sure if you agree, but as far as I can see, 32 bit systems are
> > more and more reduced to a niche market, namely Netbooks and other very
> > small systems. ÂOn the Desktop, 32 bit is declining fast, in the server
> > segment it's practically dead.
> >
> > Given this, I'm wondering how much future Cygwin has if we stick to
> > 32 bit. ÂI think it will be pretty limited. ÂIn fact, we're probably
> > rather late in the game.
> 
> I agree. Even though the advantages for programs that don't have much
> use for 64-bit integers or pointers are modest, the '*32' in Task
> Manager will increasingly be interpreted as 'legacy'.

Yeah, WOW64 is already only an optional component of Windows 2008 R2
and can be deinstalled.  Probably the next Server release requires
to install WOW64 exlicitely as "feature" to get it at all and it's
also becoming an optional component on workstations.  Rumor has it
that Windows 8 is the last Windows available in a 32 bit x86 version.
Fortunately there will be an ARM version...

> > Â- What name should the 64 bit DLL have?
> 
> That question applies not just to the Cygwin DLL but also to every
> other library.

Indeed.

> > Â- Where should 64 bit binaries and libs go?
> 
> What does Linux do?

Executables in /{s}bin, /usr/{s}bin, regardless of 32 or 64 bit.
Libs in /lib vs. /lib64, /usr/lib vs. /usr/lib64.

> (Also, do libraries still need to go into the same directory as executables?)

Yes, %PATH% still rulez.

> > Â- Do we define "long" as 32 bit or 64 bit type?
> 
> Oooh, that's a difficult one. (For anyone who doesn't know: It's 64
> bits on Linux, but 32 bits on Windows, including MinGW-64.)

http://pubs.opengroup.org/onlinepubs/9699919799/basedefs/unistd.h.html
bugs me.  There's no _CS_POSIX_V7_xxx definition which allows for 32
bit int, 32 bit long, 64 bit pointer and 64 bit off_t.

> Packaging resources are thinly spread as it is, so maintaining two
> distros in parallel might not work out well long term.

That speaks for a single distro with 32 and 64 bit stuff mingling.

> > This is a big project which can only work if we have help and support
> > from the community. ÂBefore we can even contemplate to start discussing,
> > I would like to learn:
> >
> > - How much interest do you have in a 64 bit Cygwin?
> >
> > - How much interest do you have to help to make 64 bit Cygwin real?
> >
> > - What part of the project would most interest you to help? ÂCoding
> > ÂCygwin? ÂDocumentation? ÂSetup? ÂToolchain? ÂYou name it.
> 
>  Unfortunately I can't promise an awful lot of time though.

That's what I fear most.

> (I see there's a libc/machine/x86_64 directory in newlib. Has this
> x86_64 support been used in anger?)

In anger?  I don't understand the question.


Corinna

-- 
Corinna Vinschen                  Please, send mails regarding Cygwin to
Cygwin Project Co-Leader          cygwin AT cygwin DOT com
Red Hat


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