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Author Topic: Native 64-bit  (Read 1144 times)

madman

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Native 64-bit
« on: February 09, 2010, 06:27:40 pm »
How difficult would it be to compile Dwarf Fortress natively for 64-bit Linux, rather than us 64-bit users having to use 32-bit emulation? (and maybe Windows has similar arguments, but I don't know the details for that).

Pros:
* About 10-30% faster (depending on what benchmarks you believe).
* Easier to get to run on 64-bit environment.
* No need to 64-bit Linux users to maintain a 32-bit emulation environment.

Cons:
* More targets to support and test.
* Only benefits a small proportion of users (although this proportion will increase to eventually become nearly everyone).
* Today would need to have access to a 64-bit environment for compiling.
* Slightly higher memory use (I don't think this is a big problem).

It also depends on how the code is written - if pointers are frequently coerced into ints, or other assumptions made about pointer sizes, this may be intractable and never happen, otherwise it may be just a recompile away.
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sweitx

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Re: Native 64-bit
« Reply #1 on: February 10, 2010, 05:24:22 pm »
Sometimes it's not as simple as you think, depending on how the underlying framework is setup.
Directly recompile most 32-bit program to 64-bit will tend to double the binary thou.
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The goblin mounted on his back, however, is drowning.

madman

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Re: Native 64-bit
« Reply #2 on: February 10, 2010, 11:10:33 pm »
Binary size is not usually an issue. 64-bit also increases the RAM usage for the data, which can be an issue, but I think Dwarf Fortress is processor bound not memory bound, and 64-bit code is usually faster.

I have no idea how simple it is. That depends on how the Dwarf Fortress code and any included libraries are written, and on the build environment. Best case is list a recompile, worst case is a rewrite.

It also depends on Toady choosing to do it, which is why I put it in as a suggestion (in case it turns out to be really easy). No-one else seems to have suggested it.
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Quote from: bluea
Compilers are Dwarves with the beards abstracted away.
They can pull completely amazing maneuvers, yet manage to die of thirst in the river.

CaptApollo12

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Re: Native 64-bit
« Reply #3 on: February 11, 2010, 01:35:34 am »
goddam windows seven AND 64 bit processer not allowing me to play my favorite old games. I was greatly impressed that df runs when I got my computer for christmas.
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SirHoneyBadger

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Re: Native 64-bit
« Reply #4 on: February 16, 2010, 04:26:27 am »
I'm with you, CaptApollo12. I first of all spent twice what I wanted to spend on an operating system to get Win 7 ultimate, so I could have encryption and XP mode, and then I ended up having to download DOSbox just to play MoM and Dark Sun.

I haven't even gotten around to booting up Planescape Torment yet (here's to hoping my discs still work), so who knows what kind of headache that will be?
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