From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Received: from mailserv2.iuinc.com (qmailr@mailserv2.iuinc.com [206.245.164.55]) by puffin.external.hp.com (8.8.7/8.8.7) with SMTP id QAA27262 for ; Fri, 19 Nov 1999 16:03:55 -0700 Received: from thepuffingroup.com (IDENT:adevries@localhost [127.0.0.1]) by feather.thepuffingroup.com (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id SAA02749 for ; Fri, 19 Nov 1999 18:06:48 -0500 Sender: adevries@thepuffingroup.com Message-ID: <3835D808.18274C86@thepuffingroup.com> Date: Fri, 19 Nov 1999 18:06:48 -0500 From: Alex deVries MIME-Version: 1.0 To: parisc-linux@thepuffingroup.com Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Subject: [parisc-linux] HP open sourcing the SOM linker List-ID: Hewlett-Packard, in co-operation with the Puffin Group, is open sourcing their SOM linker product. This release is an important step in the project to port Linux to the PA-RISC architecture, as it will eventually allow developers to more easily test their work. 32-bit versions of the HP/UX operating system use a proprietary SOM (Spectrum Object Model) binary format to load executables, making it a natural choice as an object format for early PA-RISC/Linux. Until now, there was no way to generate a SOM binary except by using HP/UX tools, which prevented developers from building on any other platform. Once the port of the linker is complete, developers will be able to build from a variety of platforms, taking advantage of more computing power, and reducing the amount of time that it takes to test new code. Hewlett-Packard, adding to their extensive list of Linux-related projects, has made the linker available under the GNU General Public License, making it freely modifiable and redistributable. However, though Hewlett-Packard encourages developers to extend and port their linker, they do not guarantee that community modifications will be re-integrated into their official product. Although the linker does not yet produce functional binaries, developers and curious hackers are invited to browse the source and commit patches. HP's official release, as well as future snapshots, can be obtained via FTP from ftp://puffin.external.hp.com/pub/parisc/linker, or from the Puffin Group's CVS server. More information regarding CVS can be found at http://www.thepuffingroup.com/parisc/cvs.html. Questions about the SOM linker can be directed to linker-info@thepuffingroup.com. - Alex -- Alex deVries Vice President of Engineering The Puffin Group