[Glibc-bsd-devel] ia64 donation for GNU/KFreeBSD

[Robert Millan]

On Thu, Oct 02, 2003 at 09:34:58AM -0600, Bdale Garbee wrote:
> 
> The Itanium series can run ia32 Linux binaries once it's running an ia64 Linux
> kernel and rest of userspace, but you can't just run an ia32 operating system
> on an ia64 system.

What does the rest of userspace involve? Could you, for example, chroot into
an ia32 userspace system?

> My primary goal is to increase overall interest in the ia64 architecture in 
> the free software world.  A secondary goal is to see the BSD kernel work for
> Debian expanded to more than one architecture.

There's certainly interest in that on our side.

> I suggest that anyone wanting to wrap their minds around the ia64 architecture
> and related porting issues pick up a copy of the Mosberger and Eranian book
> on the ia64 Linux kernel.  It's not cheap, but it explains the decisions that
> were made in a way that's like to help with other OS ports to ia64.

When you say OS ports do you refer to kernel ports? Fortunately, FreeBSD's
kernel is already ported to ia64. I believe the only technical difficulty we'll
encounter is porting ia64-kfreebsd headers to Glibc.

-- 
Robert Millan

"[..] but the delight and pride of Aule is in the deed of making, and in the
thing made, and neither in possession nor in his own mastery; wherefore he
gives and hoards not, and is free from care, passing ever on to some new work."

 -- J.R.R.T, Ainulindale (Silmarillion)