RFC: Optimizing for 386

[Joseph D. Wagner]

> If you think there will be a performance gain, then rebuild /one/
> RPM with the optimizations you want and show how much faster it is.

I actually did that once.  I recompiled KDE from scratch.  36 hours.  No noticeable difference.  Then I recompiled the underlying Qt libraries from scratch.  5 hours.  A few seconds here, a few seconds there.  Then I recompiled XFree86 from scratch.  4 hours.  Now we're starting to talk increased responsiveness.

Then XFree86 became Xorg, and both Qt and KDE came out with a new version of there programs, and everything had to be recompiled from scratch all over again.

The problem is EVERYTHING from the ground up has to be optimized to feel the cumulative effect.  There is no way you are going to convince me that being optimized for a 386 is OK when I felt the effectiveness of optimizing the graphics programs.

However, because I didn't do my tests in a "scientific" manor with precise measurements, the developers won't even consider my results.

> the developers explain over & over that there won't be 
> these performance gains people think there will be

These same people say that theoretically EXT3 with Data Ordered mode should be faster that EXT3 with Data Journaled mode, but reality has proven that this isn't the case.  I'd like just one of these developers to take the hours of compiling time necessary to produce an optimized version and test the results.  I think the results would be equally surprising.

> In sum, "the huge numbers of people" are asking for something 
> that...  will hurt others

Who?  Who is still using a 386?  A 486?  Do anyone on this list have anything less than a 586?  Who are these victims of my push for better optimizations?

Joseph D. Wagner