[rescue] Sparc based distro's - WAS:Re: Martin is at it again

[Carl R. Friend]

    On Sun, 2 Jun 2013, Sandwich Maker wrote:

> i imagine it was architecture defines and conditional compilation.

    The "meat" of the architecture-difference work is almost certainly
defines and conditional compilation, likely with some assembly-level
bits thrown into the mix at the lowest levels of the CPU drivers.

> if openindiana hasn't been chasing all the branches as they evolve
> the code, they could get out of sync enough to not all compile.

    Porting things from one platform to another has long been a bit of
a challenge, and makes one pay very careful attention to what he's
doing if the thing's to work in multiple environments.  With the
monoculture of Intel and Linux we're starting to see the skills that
make multi-platform ports possible disappearing.  Too, GNU and the
FSF haven't been helping matters with their sloppy (in my opinion)
handling of things like null-pointers which engender poor programming
practises.  I've ported lots of Linux stuff to Solaris and other
various *NIX platforms, and some of it has been easy and some of it
was utterly impossible; good projects welcome porting patches and
poor ones don't.  Too, porting things is a great means of QA; it tends
to pull a lot of subtle problems out of the code.

    OK, enough of *that* rant.

+------------------------------------------------+---------------------+
| Carl Richard Friend (UNIX Sysadmin)            | West Boylston       |
| Minicomputer Collector / Enthusiast            | Massachusetts, USA  |
| mailto:crfriend at rcn.com                        +---------------------+
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