18 Jun
2009
18 Jun
'09
4:07 a.m.
On Wed, Jun 17, 2009 at 10:58:01AM -0700, Mark Knecht wrote:
WRT to the original audio distribution proposal I want
to throw out an
idea that Linus and some of the other high-end kernel developers have
been discussing on the LKML, and it rings true as possibly important
for folks like us doing audio work. The comment was that distribution
packagers haven't accepted the idea of providing a 64-bit kernel with
a 32-bit tool set. The idea, as I understand it, is that with a 64-bit
kernel you get the potential advantages of using all the features of
your newer 64-bit processor - newer hardware flags, more memory. On
the other hand 32-bit apps might work better in virtualized
environments and, in my experience, would provide more backward
compatibility with older audio and Windows stuff. Linus and others
seem to think it's a a good thing to do, but no one is doing it yet.
I'm not qualified to say what's good or bad about it.
A significant advantage of the 64-bit kernel
is that the processor can make use of more registers.
In addition to ease of virtualization, an advantage of
32-bit userland, is that code is smaller, so that cache is
used more efficiently.
--
Joel Roth