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List:       linux-kernel
Subject:    Re: [NEW PATCH] timers, sysctl, signal (only to get POSIX timers
From:       "Albert D. Cahalan" <acahalan () cs ! uml ! edu>
Date:       1999-08-07 20:10:42
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Riley writes:
> Hi Robert.

>> Point taken, are you sure that all platforms can do 64 bit
>> calculations? (or does the compiler support it?)
>
> My understanding is that all platforms CAN do 64 bit calculation, but
> it's generally frowned upon on 32-bit platforms as it's rather slow.

First of all, one can not avoid wide numbers for this. You can not
use an #ifdef to avoid the problem.

The question then becomes: Use "long long" or not?

All platforms can do 64-bit calculations via "long long", with the
compiler emulating as needed. Older versions of gcc could be slow,
but this problem has been fixed.

Even though I have an old gcc, I'd prefer letting the compiler handle
the job. Using "long long" would make the code more maintainable.
Somebody actually using this new feature will need a new libc anyway,
and I think libc now requires the newer compiler.

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