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On 15/06/2014 00:20, Mick wrote: |
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> I looked at how long some packages are taking these days. I noticed that |
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> firefox and chromium take a lot longer to emerge than was the case 3-4 years |
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> ago. For example: |
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> |
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> # genlop -t www-client/firefox |
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> * www-client/firefox |
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> |
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> Sat Dec 18 17:19:14 2010 >>> www-client/firefox-3.6.13 |
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> merge time: 1 minute and 16 seconds. |
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> [snip ...] |
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> |
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> Sat Jun 14 22:37:43 2014 >>> www-client/firefox-24.6.0 |
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> merge time: 54 minutes and 59 seconds. |
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> |
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> |
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> # genlop -t www-client/chromium |
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> * www-client/chromium |
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> |
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> Sat Aug 6 09:44:27 2011 >>> www-client/chromium-13.0.782.107-r1 |
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> merge time: 30 minutes and 52 seconds. |
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> [snip ...] |
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> |
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> Sat Jun 14 21:42:44 2014 >>> www-client/chromium-35.0.1916.153 |
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> merge time: 1 hour, 34 minutes and 49 seconds. |
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> |
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> |
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> I am wondering if something in my configuration is causing this, rather than |
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> my laptop getting older for the continuously evolving and perhaps more |
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> demanding (in terms of resources to compile) software code. Have you noticed |
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> something similar? |
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> |
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Compilers are getting clever, I observe that to be the main reason. |
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In years gone by, a compiler would start at the top of the .c and work |
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towards the bottom, generating code. Hey, it works, even if the code is |
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not the most optimum code possible. |
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Nowadays, compilers spend ages figuring out the best code paths and |
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optimizing. This takes time and RAM - gobs and gobs and gobs of RAM. |
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Price of progress. |
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A secondary factor is that packages just get bigger overall with time. |
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Often with bloat, but not always. |
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Your firefox example is very skewed - in the 3.x days firefox was really |
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just a front end thingie and the bulk of the code was in backend |
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packages (eg xulrunner). |
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Chromium is a good example, that one has grown *enormously* |
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And maybe your disks are tired too :-) . You do have hdparm results from |
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4 years ago to compare? |
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-- |
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Alan McKinnon |
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alan.mckinnon@×××××.com |
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