Re: [2.6 patch] remove support for gcc < 3.2

Kurt Wall
2005-08-01T03:00:40Z

On Mon, Aug 01, 2005 at 12:26:07AM +0200, Adrian Bunk took 109 lines to write:
> This patch removes support for gcc < 3.2 .
>
> The advantages are:
> - reducing the number of supported gcc versions from 8 to 4 [1]
> allows the removal of several #ifdef's and workarounds
> - my impression is that the older compilers are only rarely
> used, so miscompilations of a driver with an old gcc might
> not be detected for a longer amount of time
>
> My personal opinion about the time and space a compilation requires is
> that this is no longer that much of a problem for modern hardware, and
> in the worst case you can compile the kernels for older machines on more
> recent machines.

Environments that require kernel compilation, often multiple times,
testing, benefit from shorter compile times. It can be the difference
between, say, completing a test suite overnight instead of having to
wait until tomorrow afternoon. Keeping 2.95, at least, has some value
in such environments.

Kurt
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