Re: [PATCH 3/16] Kconfig update for lemote fulong mini-PC

[Ralf Baechle <ralf@linux-mips.org>]

On Wed, Apr 18, 2007 at 03:27:16PM -0700, Uhler, Mike wrote:

> Note that both of these apply to pre-MIPS64 processors.  In a MIPS64
> implementation, The Status.PX bit should be used to enable 64-bit
> operations without enabling 64-bit addressing.  The Status.XX bit is
> gone and can't be set.  The addressing boundary condition that Bill
> mentioned is explicitly address in the Architecture for Programmer's
> manual, Volume III, section 4.10 as a requirement for hardware in
> exactly this case.
> 
> I realize that Loongson is a MIPS III processor where Bill's suggestion
> may apply, but it's not a general problem moving forward to MIPS64.

Linux limits the address space to 0x7fff8000 for 32-bit processes.  For
sake of simplicity and symmetry we do this on both 32-bit and 64-bit
kernels, on all processors.  A 64-bit kernel always runs userspace
processes with UX=1.  Since a 32-bit process cannot create mappings
above the low 2GB there isn't an actual need to use PX.

(I think there is a small bug in this scheme though, a process that is
accessing a 64-bit userspace address that isn't a 32-bit address should
be sent a SIGBUS but will actually receive a SIGSEGV.  But that's a
subtility and also requires extrapolating from an API documents that only
covers a strict 32-bit universe.)

  Ralf