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Date:      Wed, 24 May 2000 00:29:04 +0000
From:      Tony Griffiths <tonyg@OntheNet.com.au>
To:        Andrew Gallatin <gallatin@cs.duke.edu>
Cc:        freebsd-alpha@FreeBSD.ORG
Subject:   Re: Alpha version and Xwindows...
Message-ID:  <392B2250.397D6667@OntheNet.com.au>
References:  <392A01DC.ED5315B2@home.com> <392A2C5A.B9241D2F@OntheNet.com.au> <14634.35403.483188.124124@grasshopper.cs.duke.edu>

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Andrew Gallatin wrote:

> Tony Griffiths writes:
>  >
>  > The only remaining problem is that some of the packaged apps
>  > (gv/ghostview/...)
>  > generate millions of unaligned-access traps.  I've currently got the Tru64
>  > Unix
>  > Freeware CDROM loaded (sources rather than binaries 'cause I'm missing some
>  >
>  > X11 ECOFF libs [libXaw.so] that the binaries want).  Hopefully I can
>  > rebuilt the X
>  > apps that I want from the modified sources and generate a 'native' ELF
>  > binary without
>  > the alignment faults!
>
> For what its worth, I think the problem is the gcc compiler.  I have
> osf1/ecoff gs binaries here that were built from the standard sources
> using the Compaq cc compiler & which do not generate unaliged access
> traps.

I think you are right on this point!  I recompiled ghostview (gs) from the
Digital-modified
sources on the Tru64 Unix freeware CDROM and, guess what, it generates unaligned
access
faults at the same rate as the FreeBSD packages version.  Look like I will have
to get the
ECOFF libs and run the binaries from the freeware CD!

Are there any particular switches to egcs to force alignment and/or assume memory
fetches
via pointer dereference are not naturally aligned?  I know with DEC C on the
Alpha that a

int  i = *(int*)p;

generates a hideous 11 machine instructions even if p is longword aligned as
opposed to 1 ldl
naturally aligned load but that is far better than taking an alignment fault if
it is not!!!



>
>
> If you can build or otherwise obtain the X11 ECOFF libs you need, you
> might be better off running the osf1 binaries of these things.

Fortunately I have access to Tru64 systems being a contractor to Compaq so
getting the
ECOFF binaries is not too much of a hassle...

Tony



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