Re: [patch] MIPS/Linux: Let one select the default ABI for 64-bit

["Maciej W. Rozycki" <macro at ds2 dot pg dot gda dot pl>]

On 20 May 2003 cgd@broadcom.com wrote:

> >  I propose to add another CPU configuration name, specifically "mipsn32" 
> > to select the n32 ABI and let "mips64" mean (n)64.  This way, for a given
> > system configuration, a proper canonical triplet exists and for 64-bit
> > MIPS/Linux native configurations config.guess could select between the
> > o32, n32 and (n)64 ABIs, based on what installed tools produce by default. 
> 
> OK, what configuration names do you use for "n32 with specific cpu"?

 That could certainly be extended like "mips" or "mips64" are dealt with
now.  There was no point to start from a fully featured patch and it was
proved true by the Alexandre's note.

> I.e., don't make people select wacked-out target names for the thing
> that they want most often, and keep the defaults for targets similar
> to what they expect.

 Well, admittedly, "mips64" as an alias for n32 is a wacked-out name for
me.  I would assume <CPU>64 means full support for a <CPU> in it's 64-bit
mode.  The (n)64 ABI fullfills it, but the n32 one doesn't as it's support
for 64 bits is partial from the binutils' POV and minimal from the gcc's
one.  Of course the participants of this mailing list, including you and
me, fully understand these subtleties, but I wouldn't be so sure about
everybody else, including many people at the <linux-mips@linux-mips.org>
list, let alone others. 

 But now that Alexandre gave a reasonable proposal, it makes no sense to
argue about what the CPU name should imply.  And time will show if the
default n32 ABI for the "mips64-linux" alias is the right choice. 

-- 
+  Maciej W. Rozycki, Technical University of Gdansk, Poland   +
+--------------------------------------------------------------+
+        e-mail: macro@ds2.pg.gda.pl, PGP key available        +