Linux x32 ABI Not Catching Wind

jones_supa writes "The x32 ABI for Linux allows the OS to take full advantage of an x86-64 CPU while using 32-bit pointers and thus avoiding the overhead of 64-bit pointers. Though the x32 ABI limits the program to a virtual address space of 4GB, it also decreases the memory footprint of the program and in some cases can allow it to run faster. The ABI has been talked about since 2011 and there's been mainline support since 2012. x32 support within other programs has also trickled in. Despite this, there still seems to be no widespread interest. x32 support landed in Ubuntu 13.04, but no software packages were released. In 2012 we also saw some x32 support out of Gentoo and some Debian x32 packages. Besides the kernel support, we also saw last year the support for the x32 Linux ABI land in Glibc 2.16 and GDB 7.5. The only Linux x32 ABI news Phoronix had to report on in 2013 was of Google wanting mainline LLVM x32 support and other LLVM project x32 patches. The GCC 4.8.0 release this year also improved the situation for x32. Some people don't see the ABI as being worthwhile when it still requires 64-bit processors and the performance benefits aren't very convincing for all workloads to make maintaining an extra ABI worthwhile. Would you find the x32 ABI useful?"

Comments

Wont use Linux without it!

[Billly Gates]

Until a stable ABI is available I will keep using Windows. I wont use Linux. It is FreeBSD, Windows Server, or Solaris (ugh maybe not in this day and age!)

I came to slashdot as a BSDI and FreeBSD geek in 1999. I learned Linux afterwards. I know unusual as the other way around but I never liked Linux as much other than a quick way to try a desktop gui out. Linux lacks sorely in this area.

In Unix I can run 15 year old apps no problem in FreeBSD and Solaris. Why ABI? In Windows I can run updates and they wont break anything unless some app cough JAVA cough uses a security exploit for functionality. Why? Windows has an ABI. I can recompile and run 20 year old SunOS apps no problem with OpenSolaris. Try that with Linux?

Linux is the worst OS for desktops for this reason. I once worked a 2nd job in a PC shop and they wont touch Linux. Hairyfeet mentioned he tried linux and people kept calling back angry that their printer stopped working after an Ubuntu update.

I did not even know it existed? I will keep Linux on a VM I suppose but only CentOS as Redhat likes to make somewhat ABIs that do not break after each freaking update!