Re: master 37889523278: Add new `swap` macro and use it

[Po Lu]

Stefan Kangas <stefankangas@gmail.com> writes:

> Po Lu <luangruo@yahoo.com> writes:
>
>> Considering that you downloaded Sun C from the Internet, it is probably:
>>
>> $ /opt/SUNWspro/bin/cc -V
>>
>> cc: Sun C 5.8 2005/10/13
>>
>> that is 4 years out of date.  Install:
>>
>> $ /opt/SUNWspro/bin/cc -V
>> cc: Sun C 5.8 Patch 121015-07 2009/04/22
>>
>> with:
>>
>> # smpatch -G -i 121015-07
>
> I don't pretend to be a Solaris expert, but the above suggests that you
> can upgrade software on that system.
>
> - What's stopping users from installing Sun C 5.9?

Patches are only provided for installed software to be _updated_.  Sun
Sun C 5.9 is not an update to 5.8 but a completely new compiler, with a
suitably new package name, separate support and update arrangements, and
the like.

> - Which systems are we talking about, and do we have any reason to
>   believe that they are in wide use in 2024?  Presumably, these machines
>   were installed before 2007, when Sun C 5.9 was released.

Sun C 5.9 is incompatible with 5.8, and users may choose to run either
compiler (as well as later releases) on Solaris 10 systems, until 2027.

> - Finally, why can't we ask these users to run GCC?  We also don't
>   support MSVC, for example, so adding another unportable compiler to
>   the list doesn't sound like a disaster (especially since they can just
>   upgrade to the next version).

AFAIU MSVC is not an ISO C99 compiler, so it's natural that we don't
support it.  The MSVC build also required its own build system and
Makefiles (see nt/configure.bat, cf. config.bat), which were already
nonfunctional by the time support was formally discontinued.