Re: Thread-private mappings and graphics (was Re: Per-Processor Data

Jon Leech (ljp@oddhack.engr.sgi.com)
Mon, 13 Dec 1999 23:54:15 -0800


On Mon, Dec 13, 1999 at 10:31:49PM -0800, Linus Torvalds wrote:
> You can have thread-private _pointers_. Just have different mappings of
> the same hardware context if you have to, and just have different
> pointers to it in different threads.

This doesn't address the problem. First, the threads need to refer
to *different* graphics contexts. Second, the API requires that these
contexts be identified by some thread-specific mechanism available to
the graphics library, not by explicit stack pointers in the application
- whether that mechanism is private mappings or tarot cards matters not,
so long as it's extremely fast.

I assumed these points were both clear from my initial post, and not
really occasion for a rant about how "unstable and unmaintainable" IRIX
is, but whatever - so long as in the end Linux allows apps to issue
vertices at least as fast as other OSes on the same hardware.

Jon Leech
SGI

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