Re: UNS: Compiling vax kernel with pcc

On 08/15/2011 02:24 PM, Thor Lancelot Simon wrote:
>> My assumption (perhaps incorrect) is that once pcc is up to speed it
>> might well generate better
>> code for the vax than gcc does, with less cpu and memory.
>
> I wouldn't count on it.  Today's pcc is of course better than "traditional"
> pcc but, for what it's worth, when I was running a real 11/750 as a
> fairly busy UUCP and Usenet site, I eked at least another year of life
> out of the tired old beast just by recompiling everything I could with
> GCC -- which I think at the time was 1.21.  This was after we'd long
> since switched from the 4.3 UUCP to Vixie's UUCP to Taylor UUCP,
> moved the modems from DHU11 to DMF32 and removed all vestige of DZ
> serial controllers from the system.
>
> My hazy memory tells me that compress(1) got around 25% faster when
> compiled with GCC.  Modern GCC probably does better still.

   I've had similar experiences with GCC on VAX, under UNIX 
implementations and VMS.  The same goes for 68020, when compared to 
Sun's (early) compiler.  GCC's optimization on those platforms is excellent.

            -Dave

--

-- 
Dave McGuire, AK4HZ
New Kensington, PA