[Mono-list] Platform support

[Miguel de Icaza]

hello,

> What are the plans for other Unix platforms? Specifically, I'm thinking of
> HPUX, IRIX and AIX.

There are three variables involved in supporting a platform:

	* CPU support (required for trampolines, delegates, pinvoke)

	* Operating System support

	* JIT/Interpreter.

Today we have support for x86 JITing;  x86, ppc, sparc, s390 support for
the interpreter (with known problems in the sparc version).

Operating system wise we support Linux, Windows 9x, Windows NT, Solaris
and some versions of BSD.

HP-UX is an OS that runs in various architectures: hppa, ia64 and some
older cpus.  None of those CPUS are supported today.

IRIX runs on MIPS CPUS (some very old versions ran on m68k), and
currently there is no support for the MIPS architecture in Mono.

AIX runs at least on the PowerPC architecture, which we support today in
the interpreter.

My current plans are to support the x86 very well.   Our new JIT
compiler should be a lot simpler to port to new architectures as well,
which might reduce the time to get the JIT running.  But my main
priority is the x86 if only because of the volume of those machines out
there.   PPC/Linux+MacOSX and Sparc/Solaris come close next because of
their volume.

We have been talking to a number of people that are interested in having
Ximian support specific architectures and specific operating systems,
and I will keep people posted on any progress in that area.

Miguel.