Date: Fri, 23 May 2014 22:05:53 -0400 From: "Littlefield, Tyler" <tyler@tysdomain.com> To: "freebsd-hackers@freebsd.org" <freebsd-hackers@freebsd.org> Subject: no SSE in kernel build? Message-ID: <537FFE81.2080504@tysdomain.com>
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Hello all: I had a quick question I was hoping someone could explain for me. I was looking at some of the kernel source, just trying to familiarize myself with it. I notice that SSE, MMX and other such instruction sets are explicitly disabled during kernel compilation--is there any particular reason why? I'm sure it's pretty obvious, but my knowledge of kernel workings is pretty limited. I've seen functions like memset/memcpy that make use of SSE and are incredibly fast; perhaps this could be useful on architectures that support it? Finally, I'm interested in doing some performance work on the kernel--perhaps to help out somewhere. Is there anything at the kernel level a beginner could help out with? Where else might my help be useful? I know -some-, as I've worked a bit on a barebones OS, but I'm no means a kernel hacker. Thanks, -- Take care, Ty http://tds-solutions.net He that will not reason is a bigot; he that cannot reason is a fool; he that dares not reason is a slave.
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