Date: Tue, 7 Jan 2014 04:25:27 +0100 From: Matthew Rezny <mrezny@hexaneinc.com> To: marino@freebsd.org Cc: freebsd.contact@marino.st, freebsd-ports@freebsd.org, tg@gmplib.org Subject: Re: Advice about /usr/ports/math/gmp Message-ID: <20140107042527.00002e37@unknown> In-Reply-To: <52CB6250.3030009@marino.st> References: <20140107010206.00003d43@unknown> <52CB6250.3030009@marino.st>
next in thread | previous in thread | raw e-mail | index | archive | help
On Tue, 07 Jan 2014 03:11:28 +0100 John Marino <freebsd.contact@marino.st> wrote: > On 1/7/2014 01:02, Matthew Rezny wrote: > >> We are about to release GMP 5.2. > >> > >> We have been forced to add three FreeBSD-related items to the > >> releases notes: > >> > >> * This release will not work on FreeBSD/amd64 7.x, 8.x or 9 > >> series before 9.3 with a Haswell CPU or any other CPU which > >> supports the BMI2 instructions. The reason is that the FreeBSD m4 > >> command is not correctly implemented. (Workaround: Use an older > >> GMP release, or install GNU m4 from /usr/ports and tell GMP to use > >> it.) > >> > >> * This release will not work on FreeBSD/amd64 before version 10 > >> using the 32-bit ABI. The reason is broken limits.h and broken > >> dynamic linking. (Workaround: Use an older GMP release if using > >> the 32-bit ABI on these FreeBSD releases is important.) > >> > >> * This release will not work on FreeBSD/amd64 10.0 using the > >> 32-bit ABI. The reason is bugs in the compiler 'clang'. > >> (Workaround: Compiling gcc from /usr/ports might work, except that > >> gcc depends on GMP; we have not been able to test that workaround > >> since FreeBSD/i386 10.0 does not work for us under KVM or Xen.) > >> > >> The first item is a show-stopper. It would be possible to > >> implement a workaround in GMP. We choose not to do that since (1) > >> we adviced the FreeBSD project two years ago the m4 bug, and > >> FreeBSD chose to make 4 releases without fixing m4, and (2) the > >> fix is ugly, and (3) our use of m4 which triggers the bug is > >> actually part of a workaround for a broken assembler (to much > >> complexity to maintain workarounds for workarounds). > >> > >> The second item should not affect /usr/ports builds since they > >> would use the default 64-bit ABI on amd64 machines. > >> > >> The third item is a show-stopper until clang is fixed. We have not > >> been able to isolate this problem due to lack of time and due to a > >> deeply malfunctioning filesystem of FreeBSD/i386 under KVM and > >> Xen+NetBSD. We don't have any more information about these bugs. > >> > >> > >> We do not plan to implement workarounds for the above bugs for GMP > >> 5.2.x for any x. I would advice that you stick with GMP 5.1.3. > >> > >> > >> Torbj=F6rn > >> Please encrypt, key id 0xC8601622 > >=20 > > So, being that you have provided essentially zero information on the > > alleged bugs, what is the advice you are purporting to provide? The > > subject is "advice about gmp" but the only thing I see that would > > qualify as advice is "don't upgrade". > >=20 > > I do have a bit of advice for you: learn the difference between the > > words advise (verb) and advice (noun). Twice in the body you use > > advice where only advise makes sense. Advice is what you give, > > advise is the process of giving it. Being that advice is a noun, > > adviced isn't even a valid word. Yet another related word is > > advisory, which means to provide notification but not necessary > > advice. The subject line would be congruent with the content if it > > were "advisory about gmp". > >=20 > > Yes this reply is a total waste of time as was the original. > > Just replying in kind dear troll. >=20 >=20 > whoa - this is pretty harsh if you assume Torbjorn was sincere to > begin with, and I haven't seen anything that indicates he wasn't. > It's pretty much the definition of "no good deed goes unpunished". >=20 > Yes, the criticism of "well, what exactly is wrong?" is valid, but the > guy did write a couple of PRs, so calling him a troll is way out of > line. If it was planning on providing more information, I don't > expect he will now. >=20 > John I'm aware of the applicable PR only because Tijl mentioned it later in the thread. It is actually the PR that earned Torbj=F6rn the troll label in my mind. Specifically this: "I was about to fix it, but found that the license of the code in question was unacceptable to me. I only contribute to Free Software, not to Open Source code bearing a license analogous to a law system that permits people to sell themselves as slaves." =46rom his email, he is simply unhelpful. Essentially just "you're different from GNU/Linux so you're broken but I won't bother to say how". Great, so helpful. It's when I get to the PR and see the bit of "I could fix it but I won't because you use the wrong license" that my troll alarm goes off. I could go on about how hypocritical it is to claim our m4 isn't Free Software when his project uses a far more onerous and vastly less-free license, but I'd just be preaching to the choir. Rather than call him out on the license crap, I opted to take a shortcut and simply troll him back with a bit of the ol' Learn2English.
Want to link to this message? Use this URL: <https://mail-archive.FreeBSD.org/cgi/mid.cgi?20140107042527.00002e37>