[OT?] Bounty for VAX GCC backend improvements on bountysource

[Gianluca Bonetti]

Hello VMS people!

It might be a little out of topic, but I guess there are many VAX lovers here around, so I post this and hope not to disturb anyone. :)

There is still some active development on NetBSD/VAX and the latest OS version can be booted on real hardware and SIMH.

To continue supporting the VAX architecture, some changes are required on the GCC VAX backend, so future GCC releases will still include VAX support.

The bounty is estimated at USD 2000, and is already funded for around 500 including my humble 50 quid contribution.

If you, good ladies and gentlemen, think it would be great to have full GCC support for the glorious VAX platform for years on, please send your contribute to this campaign.

More details on the bountysource page (maybe not the best formatting, but fairly complete)

https://www.bountysource.com/issues/91495157-vax-convert-the-backend-to-mode_cc-so-it-can-be-kept-in-future-releases

Thank you all
Cheers
gl

[Andrew Brehm]

Post by Gianluca Bonetti
Hello VMS people!
It might be a little out of topic, but I guess there are many VAX

lovers here around, so I post this and hope not to disturb anyone. :)

Post by Gianluca Bonetti
There is still some active development on NetBSD/VAX and the latest

OS version can be booted on real hardware and SIMH.

Post by Gianluca Bonetti
To continue supporting the VAX architecture, some changes are

required on the GCC VAX backend, so future GCC releases will still
include VAX support.

Post by Gianluca Bonetti
The bounty is estimated at USD 2000, and is already funded for around

500 including my humble 50 quid contribution.

Post by Gianluca Bonetti
If you, good ladies and gentlemen, think it would be great to have

full GCC support for the glorious VAX platform for years on, please send
your contribute to this campaign.

Post by Gianluca Bonetti
More details on the bountysource page (maybe not the best formatting, but fairly complete)

https://www.bountysource.com/issues/91495157-vax-convert-the-backend-to-mode_cc-so-it-can-be-kept-in-future-releases
That site shows me nothing.

Do you have a link to the official GCC/VAX homepage where they mention
this bounty and tell you how to fund it?

[Gianluca Bonetti]

Post by Andrew Brehm
That site shows me nothing.
Do you have a link to the official GCC/VAX homepage where they mention
this bounty and tell you how to fund it?
--
Andrew Brehm

Hi Andrew

First of all, I am not involved in the port, or the bounty, I am just a VAXen owner, NetBSD/VAX user, and a paying contributor to this bounty.

I also had troubles in using bountysource to pay my contribution.
The website returns "Internal server error" 2 out 3 page reloads and requires a lot of patience, but it seems it does the job in the end.

The bounty is not from GCC, but from NetBSD/VAX developers.
I think the GCC team doesn't care about the VAX backend, as their main focus is towards newer architectures, but NetBSD/VAX people do care about the VAX port.

These are the original threads from NetBSD/VAX mailing list.
http://mail-index.netbsd.org/port-vax/2020/04/16/msg003460.html
http://mail-index.netbsd.org/port-vax/2020/05/23/msg003490.html

And basically they refer to achieve this:
https://gcc.gnu.org/wiki/CC0Transition

If you need more information, you can jump into the NetBSD/VAX mailing list, or I can ask those developers to have a visit to this newsgroup, and expose it better than what I can do.

Thank you
Cheers
gl

[William]

gcc will drop VAX support in gcc 11 if no one does the CC0 to MODE_CC conversion.

https://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=GCC-11-Dropping-CC0

Post by Gianluca Bonetti

Post by Andrew Brehm
That site shows me nothing.
Do you have a link to the official GCC/VAX homepage where they mention
this bounty and tell you how to fund it?
--
Andrew Brehm

Hi Andrew
First of all, I am not involved in the port, or the bounty, I am just a VAXen owner, NetBSD/VAX user, and a paying contributor to this bounty.
I also had troubles in using bountysource to pay my contribution.
The website returns "Internal server error" 2 out 3 page reloads and requires a lot of patience, but it seems it does the job in the end.
The bounty is not from GCC, but from NetBSD/VAX developers.
I think the GCC team doesn't care about the VAX backend, as their main focus is towards newer architectures, but NetBSD/VAX people do care about the VAX port.
These are the original threads from NetBSD/VAX mailing list.
http://mail-index.netbsd.org/port-vax/2020/04/16/msg003460.html
http://mail-index.netbsd.org/port-vax/2020/05/23/msg003490.html
https://gcc.gnu.org/wiki/CC0Transition
If you need more information, you can jump into the NetBSD/VAX mailing list, or I can ask those developers to have a visit to this newsgroup, and expose it better than what I can do.
Thank you
Cheers
gl

[John E. Malmberg]

Post by Gianluca Bonetti
Hello VMS people!
It might be a little out of topic, but I guess there are many VAX
lovers here around, so I post this and hope not to disturb anyone.
:)
There is still some active development on NetBSD/VAX and the latest
OS version can be booted on real hardware and SIMH.
To continue supporting the VAX architecture, some changes are
required on the GCC VAX backend, so future GCC releases will still
include VAX support.
The bounty is estimated at USD 2000, and is already funded for around
500 including my humble 50 quid contribution.
If you, good ladies and gentlemen, think it would be great to have
full GCC support for the glorious VAX platform for years on, please
send your contribute to this campaign.
More details on the bountysource page (maybe not the best formatting, but fairly complete)
https://www.bountysource.com/issues/91495157-vax-convert-the-backend-to-mode_cc-so-it-can-be-kept-in-future-releases >

Unfortunately I do not have the time to look at this now, but for
VAX/VMS users, some of the source for VAX/VMS GCC 2.7.x has been lost.

The source provided with the binaries does not match the binaries for
the GCC.EXE program.

Getting this project working also on VMS would be a win for VAX
hobbyists while there are still hobbyist licenses for VAX/VMS, or for
the hobbyists that have Commercial licenses.

And after the VAX Hobbyist licenses are no longer available, the
NetBSD/VAX could be a good use of that hardware.

Regards,
-John

[Gianluca Bonetti]

Hello VAX friends!

I want to inform you, that the glorious VAX platform is not going to be dropped because of MODE_CC conversion missing.
The bounty collected enough money for a developer to work on it, effectively fixing the code.
The patch has been issued and accepted.
https://gcc.gnu.org/bugzilla/show_bug.cgi?id=95294

There is still room for VAXen in the future!
Cheers
Gianluca