Date: Mon, 17 Nov 2025 11:53:28 -0800 From: Mark Millard <marklmi@yahoo.com> To: Warner Losh <imp@bsdimp.com>, freebsd-arch <freebsd-arch@freebsd.org> Subject: What's the plan for powerpc64 in FreeBSD 16 [little endian too is listed for removal] Message-ID: <CE105C18-9E53-44B5-8C05-1AEC1C5668EE@yahoo.com> References: <CE105C18-9E53-44B5-8C05-1AEC1C5668EE.ref@yahoo.com>
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Warner Losh <imp_at_bsdimp.com> wrote on Date: Mon, 17 Nov 2025 16:57:57 UTC : > Greetings, > > As we're getting close to the release date for FreeBSD 15.0, it's time to > take stock of another architectures. This time, I'd like your feedback on > the following plans. > > We'd like to retire powerpc64 and powerpc64le just before the FreeBSD > stable/16 branch. > > This would give powerpc64 another two years of support in main, followed by > sustaining support on stable/14 and stable/15 until the end of those > branches. > > We've come to this point because the port is dwindling and we have a cost > associated with keeping it around. The number of developers has fallen off > so only a couple remain. Issues in powerpc are taking longer and longer to > discover and resolve. The hardware has been a huge source of frustration > for clusteradmin and we've no alternative for developers. There's only a > tiny user base. We have trouble building packages for it. Also, powerpc has > a number of interesting features of the architecture that make it the odd > arch out. > > It's also big endian. While that may seem like a reason to keep it around, > if we really can't support it and we're not actively testing functionality > of the system, then keeping this around actually doesn't help keep us > honest. It just gives us a burden we must bear. > > In my opinion, powerpc64 appears to have already fallen below critical > mass, despite being a sentimental favorite for a number of FreeBSD > developers. As such, I'd like us to consider planning to retire it before > we branch 16. > > My questions today: Are you using this port? How many people are using it? > And what's the installed base? It appears to be somewhat less than that of > either i386 or armv7 based on user surveys and popularity at conferences. > Also, any other comments you might have. A lot of the responses you are getting seem to make no mention of little endian also being dropped: you also listed powerpc64le (not just the Big Endian powerpc64 support). I here remind folks that all powerpc64* is being proposed for removal from the active part of the git repository. (The history stays available.) [I'm one of the folks that used to use old hardware that FreeBSD only supports in Big Endian mode: old PowerMacs. But they died years ago and I stopped having any type of powerpc* context available. I never had access to a modern enough context for FreeBSD to support little endian use.] So: I've no reason to object to all powerpc64* support being moved. The proposal certainly gives folks time to transition to 15.* or other options for such hardware. === Mark Millard marklmi at yahoo.com
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