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On 6/17/20 12:52 PM, Raffaele BELARDI wrote: |
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> Hello, |
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> |
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> I might need to build and run an old 3.x kernel on a Desktop PC for some |
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> very specific tests. Would Gentoo be a good solution? |
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> |
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> I see that currently gentoo-sources only includes 4.x and 5.x sources. |
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> |
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> Thanks, |
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> |
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> raffaele |
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> |
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I use a 3.18.40 kernel, currently, on one of my AMD systems. It has |
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thousands of source build packages, not only from portage but many others. |
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Occasionally, I have to use another AMD system, with a newer kernel. I |
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have many old codes, centric to a version 3 of the kernel, that would be |
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a massive pita to move to a 5 version of the kernel. There are plans, as |
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many are related to hybrid-optimized cluster that are NOT centric to the |
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popular cluster codes. |
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Home made 'systolic array processing' is just one legacy collective of |
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old codes, I still use. |
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Many embedded (gentoo) devs still use very old linux kernels for a wide |
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variety of reasons. Products often developed do not change much, except |
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to update the firmware for a strong reason. |
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Thousands (millions?) of companies use very old linux codes, including |
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kernels for a plethora or reason. They just do not publish it. The old |
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stuff, if beautiful compared to much of the bloat-ware we have today. |
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From linux kernels to cluster*. I still run codes on 386/486 machines, |
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just for grins and as a seed for codes that are minimized. IoT from the |
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big vendors is so bloated, they cannot even find problems. Old embedded |
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(gentoo) linux codes run so fast, reliable and easy to collect |
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performance data. You go down this path, its a game-changer. An |
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addition, as minimalist coding and small, secure executables are an |
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artform. Most of the semiconductor manufactures, are *ALWAYS* looking |
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for those types of coders. Hello (TI)! |
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So, YES old gentoo is very alive amongst minimalist and corporations. |
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ymmv. I've run into many that keep incredicle trees of old, reliable |
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codes. They are often much easier for an EE to use in verification of |
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functions, Micro-Controllers, FPGA, etc etc etc. |
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hth, |
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James |
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