From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Received: from cthulhu.engr.sgi.com (cthulhu.engr.sgi.com [192.26.80.2]) by neteng.engr.sgi.com (950413.SGI.8.6.12/960327.SGI.AUTOCF) via ESMTP id TAA13099; Mon, 22 Apr 1996 19:16:38 -0700 Return-Path: Received: by cthulhu.engr.sgi.com (950511.SGI.8.6.12.PATCH526/911001.SGI) for linux-list id TAA06594; Mon, 22 Apr 1996 19:16:33 -0700 Received: from yon.engr.sgi.com by cthulhu.engr.sgi.com via ESMTP (950511.SGI.8.6.12.PATCH526/911001.SGI) for id TAA06589; Mon, 22 Apr 1996 19:16:32 -0700 Received: by yon.engr.sgi.com (950413.SGI.8.6.12/940406.SGI.AUTO) for linux id TAA28613; Mon, 22 Apr 1996 19:16:30 -0700 From: ariel@yon.engr.sgi.com (Ariel Faigon) Message-Id: <199604230216.TAA28613@yon.engr.sgi.com> Subject: Re: David Miller is on the list To: linux@yon.engr.sgi.com Date: Mon, 22 Apr 1996 19:16:30 -0700 (PDT) In-Reply-To: <199604230140.VAA03615@huahaga.rutgers.edu> from "David S. Miller" at Apr 22, 96 09:40:01 pm Reply-To: ariel@cthulhu.engr.sgi.com Organization: Silicon Graphics Inc. X-Mailer: ELM [version 2.4 PL24 ME5a] MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Sender: owner-linux@cthulhu.engr.sgi.com Precedence: bulk > >(note: I looked back over this mail after composing it and I want to > warn people who are not familiar with me yet that I am very > sarcastic and am full of ridicule even when discussing > important topics. Please don't take it that I lack tact > or am not being serious, because that simply isn't the case.) > Feel free to express yourself, my english (colloquial and otherwsie) is bad anyway, and I guess the others don't care :-) >Here is what I need: > > The following utilities I need for development. > 1) CVS/RCS, latest on prep.ai.mit.edu is fine > RCS comes default with IRIX today. But I know it is not the latest. OK, and I'll add cvs. > 2) Emacs-19.31 (rms should release within 2 weeks) > 3) All GNU smidgen-type utilies as the default binaries > (this include fileutils/sh-utils/sharutils/diffutils/ > findutils/...) > Actually, Let me just stop short and say, if there is a > source tarball for it on prep.ai.mit.edu:/pub/gnu I would > like the latest installed on the machine I develop on. > Many of these are in our freeware project. Ready to install with the click of a mouse. (Yes, one of the cool things about SGI is a joe-user software installer infinitely better than RPM/glint.) (yon) 84 /var/tmp> which find /usr/freeware/bin/find (yon) 85 /var/tmp> which tar /usr/freeware/bin/tar (yon) 86 /var/tmp> which grep /usr/freeware/bin/grep (yon) 87 /var/tmp> which chmod /usr/freeware/bin/chmod I'll add the missing ones. That's easy. BTW, we called it '/usr/freeware' rather than '/usr/gnu' because many packages are from other sources and because some of our customers asked us to stay away from their /usr/local. > 4) xfishtank (don't laugh) > Bingo. Larry runs this too. You weird people. Is this a conspiracy? :-) > 5) fvwm > > 6) teco (Must support full teco command set as described > in original DEC manuals! TECO is _the_ renaissance editor!) > I'll try to build these too. > The following would be nice, but if it will give people > bladder problems to do these then don't go out of your > way: > 1) MIPS 4[40]00 manual is some online format (not postscript, > something I can cut and paste out of an emacs buffer etc. > so maybe info or pure ascii text would be fine, I could > care less about the formatting, I just want the words > there) For MIPS ABI stuff: try the following web site, http://www.mipsabi.org/ Especially: http://www.mipsabi.org/Tech/Technical.html Tell us what's missing there. As for the MIPS programmer's Assembly manual. There is an excellent one internally on the Web... I'll try to get you a copy soon. > 2) Docs on the ethernet/scsi interfaces and I/O bus > architecture for the first machine I will be getting > this to work on, again text/info format would be nice. > Of course I will probably just stuff in the ready > drivers you might be getting to me into Linux but I want > to write my own from scratch in the near future after > that. > 3) I know as much as a bum on the street about SGI machines > and the various lines, a nice "roadmap to sgi workstations > and servers, plus the hardware gook thats inside" type > thing would be very useful to me. > I'll leave these to some other folks on the list. > I will feel more comfortable if: > 1) I became very familiar with who the heavy low level MIPS > assembly level hackers are who I will be dealing with while > I am there. Please tell me who they are, introduce, make > us say hello to each other, you get the idea. > I believe the most knowledgable low-level gurus on the list are Bill Earl and Jim Barton, I'm sure there are more, I just don't know everyone on the list personally ... > 2) I know the policy on loud music in the office I'll be in > ;-) > I'm trying to get you an office right by mine :-) >I've thought it over and to me the best plan for things this summer to >me is: > a) R4400 32-bit "proof of concept, yeah we can pull it off" > port happens first, side effect is that I become intimate > enough with the chip that I can do things more efficiently. > b) From here we look into the 64-bit stuff and whether that is > is even desirable on 64-bit. (this would be my first > 64-bit port outside of my initial UltraSparc hacks) > c) Also think about the work needed to turn that code into > r3000 friendly code. Should not be too much as I've done > the "write it on recent architecture design then backport > it to older design which had some limitations" already and > this didn't end up being so bad. > Cool. >Expect more as I think it up... this should keep you guys busy for >now. > >(Any dead-head tape traders at SGI engineering? Just wondering, may > want to start talking to them now ;-) > You'll find lots of them here ;-) -- Peace, Ariel