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Tux Machines
Posted by Rianne Schestowitz on Oct 24, 2022,
updated Nov 02, 2022
Linus Torvalds, creator of the Linux kernel, is considering dropping support for the Intel 486 processor. The move would come long after most users had moved on to newer processor architectures.
In a message to the Linux Kernel Mailing List, the main hub of Linux kernel development, Torvalds said that despite small pockets of use, he considered the 486 architecture obsolete.
"I really don't think i486 class hardware is relevant anymore," Torvalds wrote.
Kernel development will focus more on modern hardware in the future if Torvalds' response is any indication.
Read on
UPDATE
Another one:
> Linux Torvalds, founder of the Linux kernel, has posted in the kernel mailing list that he wants to drop support for Intel 486 (i486) processors, citing their age. The i486 CPUs were introduced way back in April 1989 and discontinued in 2007. They were designed by Pat Gelsinger, who is now Intel’s CEO.
> Support for i386 processors was removed back in 2012 and now there’s a desire by Torvalds to axe support for i486 a decade later. He has suggested that people still using i486 ought to be told to use an LTS kernel, but that the mainline kernel should lose support. A couple of people responded to the thread saying that it wouldn’t be too inconvenient to remove support, so there’s a good chance the plan could go forward.
Bobby Borisov also:
> Linus Torvalds, the creator of Linux, suggested it is probably time for Intel i486 CPUs support to be dropped from the Linux kernel.
> Hardware evolution is a constant process that necessitates significant efforts from software developers who supply software support.
> Many Linux users are probably unaware of the effort made by Linux kernel developers to provide broad hardware support for nearly every architecture and CPU you can think of. After all, the Linux kernel is the layer that allows the software to communicate with the underlying hardware.
Sam Varghese:
> Linux creator Linus Torvalds says a discussion over removing support for i486 was triggered by something not directly related, but that just touched on a similar area.
> "This discussion was all triggered by some unrelated code that wanted to do 64-bit accesses and had other entirely [different] approaches to avoiding CMPXCHG8B," he told iTWire in response to a query on Tuesday.
> Torvalds' suggestion about removing i486 support was made on the Linux kernel mailing list.
> However, his comments indicated that it was still up in the air. "It's still just being discussed, and there are a couple of people who seem to have that old hardware, so who knows," he said.
A couple more:
> Linux boss Linus Torvalds has contemplated ending support for the i486 processor architecture in the Linux kernel.
> The ancient architecture was up for discussion last week in a thread titled "multi-gen LRU: support page table walks" that considered how the kernel can better handle least-recently-used (LRU) lists – a means of tracking memory pages.
> As Torvalds surveyed contributors' code, he appears to have been frustrated by the need to include workarounds that cater to older CPUs. He therefore suggested ending support for old kit could be an easier way to solve memory matters.
> "We got rid of i386 support back in 2012. Maybe it's time to get rid of i486 support in 2022?" he wrote.
More today:
> The 486 CPU is somewhat of a relic these days, but its legacy in the Linux kernel has lived on. The i486 has been the de facto minimum for decades. Even Linux, that long-term supporter of outdated architectures, is considering giving up on the chip and removing support for the 486 processors, just like it did for the 386 back in 2012.
Sourav Rudra:
> After dropping support for the ancient i386 line of CPUs, over a decade back, the Linux Kernel is gearing up to possibly drop the i486 line of CPUs.
> The i486 series of CPUs was launched back in 1989, and very few Linux distros, such as Gentoo, Slackware, and KNOPPIX support it nowadays.
Jack Wallen:
> In a message to the Linux kernel mailing list, creator Linus Torvalds indicates that it's time to jettison support for i486 machines in with Linux kernel.
> For anyone who still depends on aging hardware for Linux use, you might be in for an unpleasant surprise. Linus Torvalds has announced that he is considering dropping support for aging i486 hardware in the kernel.
> On this issue, Torvalds says, "We got rid of i386 support back in 2012. Maybe it's time to get rid of i486 support in 2022?"
> The good news is, i486 hardware is pretty irrelevant at this point and anyone still depending on such hardware is on borrowed time anyway. In fact, i486 hardware is pretty much considered a relic of days gone by. However, that doesn't mean it's completely vanished from sight.
Steven Vaughan-Nichols, very late:
> You can famously run Linux on anything. And, when I say anything, I mean anything, e.g. a Nintendo Wii, an iPod, DeLaval's robotic system for milking cows, and possibly even a dead badger. Only Doom may have been ported to more devices. But, for practical purposes, all good things must come to an end, so Linus Torvalds is giving serious thought to discontinuing support for the 486 architecture.
IDG:
> Linus Torvalds, the creator of the Linux kernel, is seriously considering discontinuing the Intel 486 processor, 486 Linux and any other 486 architecture. The transition would occur after most users had upgraded to newer processor architectures.
> Torvalds explained in a message to the Linux Kernel Mailing List, the main hub of Linux kernel development, that he considers the 486 architecture obsolete and museum material. “We got rid of i386 support back in 2012. Maybe it’s time to get rid of i486 support in 2022”? Torvalds also commented, “Not that I’m convinced most distros do 32-bit development anyway these days.”
New video:
> Linux has this legacy of supporting pretty much everything you can imagine but that's starting to get in the way of writing certain pieces of modern code so Linus Torvalds is considering dropping support for the Intel 486 platform after all these years.
Today in Hackaday:
> A footnote in the week’s technology news came from Linus Torvalds, as he floated the idea of abandoning support for the Intel 80486 architecture in a Linux kernel mailing list post. That an old and little-used architecture might be abandoned should come as no surprise, it’s a decade since the same fate was meted out to Linux’s first platform, the 80386. The 486 line may be long-dead on the desktop, but since they are not entirely gone from the embedded space and remain a favourite among the retrocomputer crowd it’s worth taking a minute to examine what consequences if any there might be from this move.
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