Re: GCC 4.6 resourcing.

[John Dallaway <john@dallaway.org.uk>]

Hi Ilija

Ilija Kocho wrote:

> I have a working version (Ubuntu 10.04 32bit) of gnutools (GCC 4.6.2,
> Binutils 22.2, GDB 7.3.1) that I would put available for display/review.
> This is my first such project so I have some questions:

If you are happy that your arm-eabi toolchain is functional (for targets
you have at your disposal), then I see no reason not to proceed with an
initial arm-eabi test release.

Does the backtrace for an eCos thread and for HAL startup code work
reliably with GDB 7.3.1? In the past, we have seen issues where the
backtrace code can enter an infinite loop, hence the patch for GDB 6.8.50.x.

I would definitely recommend building for both Linux x86 and Cygwin x86
hosts so we reach all potential testers and get some feedback regarding
both hosts.

> 1. Where shall I put:
>     - Sources

Since the sources are full binutils/gcc/gdb releases (not snapshots),
the only real issue is maintaining the patches.

>     - Binaries

Patches and toolchain binaries should be uploaded to the eCos ftp area.

> 1.1. Regarding sources:
> I am expecting (hope for) some collaboration so some VCS (CVS would do)
> would be desirable. This may imply putting complete sources, which may
> be an overkill... or not... Suggestions?

I don't think it should be necessary to place the toolchain sources
under revision control. In the past, we have simply generated tarballs
containing the various patches and placed them on the ftp site along
with the generated toolchains. Of course, there should be a separate
tarball of patches for each version of the toolchain.

> 2. Branding
> IMHO we should mark our tools and the right place is --with-pkgversion
> (unless it isn't, please see my question below)..
> 
> My initial proposal is: "eCos Community [GNU]tools 4.6.2-<build>"
>                                   build = 0, 1, ...
>                                   [GNU] - optional: GNU | gnu | void
> Feel free to comment and/or give your own proposals.

I would suggest something like:

  --with-pkgversion='eCos GNU tools 4.6.2-20120124'

I would avoid mention of "test release", so that one of the test
releases could become a final release in due course.

I have suitably old Linux and Cygwin installations here and can generate
releases based on your patches if you prefer.

John Dallaway
eCos maintainer
http://www.dallaway.org.uk/john