From: Klavs Klavsen (kl_at_vsen.dk)
Date: Wed 09 Oct 2002 - 11:21:18 BST
On 09 Oct 2002 13:15:52 +0200
Dave <djp_at_comm.it> wrote:
>
> Think of rh8 as RedHat 8.0. The .0 is very important, in my opinion.
> Think of the respin of redhat 7.0. Think of all the problems with 6.0.
> Get the point?
>
This is not necessarily the case, although I grant you that 7.0 and 6.0
had problems. Mandrake 9.0 has for instance gotten VERY good reviews (no
screwups- and far better than Mandrake 8.2), and it too is gcc-3.2
based.
> Now, think of what you'll gain with 3.2 versus the old gcc, and try to
> answer some questions.
>
> Do you get faster programs? By how much?
I compared bzip2 from my RH7.3 - with the Gentoo gcc-3.2 version - it
was approx. 7-10% faster - even without profiling (which is new in
gcc-3.x) - and I've seen tests that with profiling bzip2 gets a 25%
speed increase (and yes I know bzip2 is special in regards to profiling
and probably won't gain as much with all other programs).
Also, gcc-3.2 has targets (optimizations) for all the processors - which
the older gcc's don't. This does provide for a big speed increase.
> Do you get smaller programs?
not necessarily - especially not with profiling - but I've got the
diskspace and ram I need - speed is my issue :-)
> Do you loose compatibility?
Nope.
> Why do you have to disable some optimizations for the code to work or
> to compile cleanly?
The same goes for the gcc-2.9x series - you couldn't compile everything
with -03 for instance.
> and... at the end... Is this all worth it?
>
Definetely. the new GCC has many great features and enhancements, that
will improve the performance of my Linux system.
-- Regards, Klavs Klavsen-------------| This mail has been sent to you by: |------------ Klavs Klavsen - Open Source Consultant klavs_at_EnableIT.dk - http://www.EnableIT.dk
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