Re: Bizarre difference in uptimes for same kernel

Kevin Buhr (buhr@stat.wisc.edu)
10 Sep 1997 10:49:14 -0500


Rob Partington <rjp@faethor.wamphyri.net> writes:
>
> Is it possible that compiling the kernel with pgcc instead of gcc
> actually makes for a more stable kernel? I don't know enough about the
> kernel, or about gcc/pgcc to judge, so I throw it open to the massed
> wisdom of linux-kernel for an answer...

More accurately, compiling a kernel with "pgcc" instead of "gcc" makes
for a *different* kernel. Instructions, and their order, change. As
a result, bugs behave differently, causing failures once an hour with
the "gcc" kernel and once a year with the "pgcc" kernel.

However, it wouldn't be wise to generalize. A different kind of bug
might make "gcc" produce a "stabler" kernel than "pgcc".

Kevin <buhr@stat.wisc.edu>