Re: [gentoo-mips] Reducing the number of the MIPS supported stages

[Joshua Kinard <kumba@gentoo.org>]

On 05/06/2014 03:07, Markos Chandras wrote:
> @kumba: You mentioned too many times that I wanted to "drop" support for
> mips3 and mips4. I never said that (I am sort-of tired keep repeating
> that). All I said (again) was to reduce the frequency or stop building
> them at all. Users can still get an existing mips3/mips4 stage3 and
> update themselves

Maybe it's just my way of interpretation, but in your opening paragraph,
even though you said we wouldn't drop support, you did suggest not creating
new stages for mips1-mips4.

Given a sufficiently long-enough time, that effectively drops support due to
bitrot.  Like I mentioned w/ the 2009-era userland on this Octane, I am not
going to even try to update that, simply due to the amount of time it would
take, even if I figure the IRQ prioritization bugs out.

So, my apologies if I read it wrong, but that's just how I see it.


> (picking up a random thread)
> 
> Ok thanks for the replies.
> 
> Ok I think it's safe to proceed with the following:
> - Stop mips1 builds (we don't have mips2)

I'll defer to Matt to chime in to my last message and correct me anymore, if
needed, but, I think we'll want to keep either a mips1 or a mips2, but not
both.  As well as decide whether it's a full stage3 or just a simple
stage1/stage2 tarball so people have a base from which to start a port to a
new MIPS machine if needed.  That can get updated once a year, especially if
it's a stage1 which shouldn't take long at all.


> - Reduce the frequency to once-a-year for mips3 and mips4. Updating
> these stages every year with catalyst will be a lot of fun ;)

NAK, At least once every 6 months, and preferably shortly after the .1
release of a new major gcc rev, given gcc's absurd compile time now.  Gentoo
moves fast, and a lot can change in a year.

Anyone looking to work with older SGI hardware needs something to start
from, and if a stage3 is too old, it can take those machines a while to
update everything.  I know most others on the team don't care for the SGI
hardware anymore, but it's still the most widely-available MIPS hardware for
hobbyists and tinkerers.

Otherwise, just e-mail me your mips3/mips4/mips4_r10 spec files, any custom
tweaks/changes to catalyst, and any specific instructions you do
before/during/after a catalyst build and I'll put the O2 to work if needed.

-- 
Joshua Kinard
Gentoo/MIPS
kumba@gentoo.org
4096R/D25D95E3 2011-03-28

"The past tempts us, the present confuses us, the future frightens us.  And
our lives slip away, moment by moment, lost in that vast, terrible in-between."

--Emperor Turhan, Centauri Republic