Re: Problem with exception handling on x86 / am using "as" version2.9.1

[Alan Modra <alan at SPRI dot Levels dot UniSA dot Edu dot Au>]

On Mon, 21 Feb 2000, Marc Espie wrote:

> In article <Pine.LNX.4.10.10002201512580.10014-100000@mullet.itr.unisa.edu.au> you write:
> >
> >On Sun, 20 Feb 2000, Marc Espie wrote:
> >Laugh.  For current CVS binutils, x86 is probably the best tested flavour,
> >thanks mainly to HJ Lu's snapshot releases for linux.  Use his latest
> >release with confidence, especially if it's been there for a few weeks. ;-)
> >ftp.varesearch.com/pub/support/hjl/binutils/
> 
> Apparently, you missed the `not-linux' part. Also, you seem to believe I
> can live happily which something which is x86 tested, but probably flies
> daemons thru a power-pc... and is reasonably useless for quite a few 
> combination.

No, I didn't miss that.  You were complaining about x86 exception handling
after all.

> Oh well, I can summarize the problem...
> Want binutils. Not Linux -> good luck. Not ELF -> you can die.
> 
> It's obvious Linux people couldn't care LESS about a new binutils release.
> 
> They have H.J.Lu and his wonderful snapshots... 

People care about what they need.  Free software developers care for
software they're interested it.  Whining that someone else is getting
better support than you, helps no-one.  You surely know all this from your
*bsd involvement.

I happen to like fiddling with binutils, particularly x86-elf, -coff,
-aout, and m68k-coff simply because that is what I've used.  I'll fix any
bugs I know about in this area.  Even *bsd ones :-)  If I had a power-pc,
I'd probably fix problems in that port.  I'd also dearly like to see a
binutils release.

> I don't mean to say that what he does is not great work. Is it beneficial or
> harmful to the larger community of free OSes and even (gasp !) hostile 
> commercial environments ? Hum... good question.

It's beneficial.  Exposing even part of the code to a wider community of
users/testers is good.

> Go and try updating a multiple-processor OS to a recent snapshot of binutils,
> you'll have a better look from my point of view...

Have fixes or patches you have sent been rejected or forgotten?