On Fri, 21 Dec 2001, Gregor N. Purdy wrote:
> Andy --
>
> > Whilst building on Sparc/Solaris 8
> >
> > $ perl -V:archname
> > archname='sun4-solaris-64int-ld';
>
> This could cause some trouble. I was expecting cpuarch-osname
> (two dash-separated components only). I think we'll happily
> ignore the latter two entries, though.
That's ok. The extra fields are used for various non-default perl5
compilation options, such as threads, 64bit stuff, long doubles, etc.
> ignore the latter two entries, though. Do you consider "sun4"
> to be the cpuarch? Or is it really "sparc*"?
This is a harder question than you might have expected. Consider the
following sequence of commands under Solaris 8:
$ uname -a
SunOS xxx 5.8 Generic_108528-12 sun4u sparc SUNW,Ultra-5_10
$ uname -m
sun4u
$ uname -p
sparc
$ arch
sun4
$ arch -k
sun4u
So what's the architecture? Well, according to the uname(1) manpages,
-m Print the machine hardware name (class). Use of this
option is discouraged; use uname -p instead. See NOTES
section below.
NOTES:
Independent software vendors (ISVs) and others who need to
determine detailed characteristics of the platform on which
their software is either being installed or executed should
use the uname command.
To determine the operating system name and release level,
use uname -sr. To determine only the operating system
release level, use uname -r. Note that operating system
release levels are not guaranteed to be in x.y format (such
as 5.3, 5.4, 5.5, and so forth); future releases could be in
the x.y.z format (such as 5.3.1, 5.3.2, 5.4.1, and so
forth).
In SunOS 4.x releases, the arch(1) command was often used to
obtain information similar to that obtained by using the
uname command. The arch(1) command output "sun4" was often
incorrectly interpreted to signify a SunOS SPARC system. If
hardware platform information is desired, use uname -sp.
The arch -k and uname -m commands return equivalent values;
however, the use of either of these commands by third party
programs is discouraged, as is the use of the arch command
in general. To determine the machine's Instruction Set
Architecture (ISA or processor type), use uname with the -p
option.
So Sun would like us to call this system a 'sparc'. However, perl's
Configure is old enough to date from the Sun4 days, so it uses the
(now discouraged) arch command and perl -V:archname gives sun4.
Now, just to compilcate matters, what should Linux/sparc systems use?
Note that there are actually several different sparc kernels, depending
on whether you're on an UltraSPARC or just a plain old ordinary SPARC.
Feeding the same set of commands to Linux uname, I get:
$ perl -V:archname
archname='sparc64-linux'
$ uname -a
Linux yyy 2.2.17 #1 Tue Jul 4 14:22:29 EDT 2000 sparc64 unknown
$ uname -p
unknown
$ uname -m
sparc64
$ arch
sparc64
$ arch -k
sparc64
(The 64 is supposed to indicate 64-bit capable, but it's actually
incorrect. A flash PROM update is needed on earlier Ultra1 chips
(such as this one in that particular machine) for proper 64-bit
operation. The Linux kernel does not test for this, as far as I
know.)
So what is the architecture? I don't know. I think you'd have to
accept sun4* and sparc* as valid architecture names.
I *know* that doesn't help much,
Andy Dougherty [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Dept. of Physics
Lafayette College, Easton PA 18042
