Linux 5.19 Finally Removes Obsolete x86 a.out Support

[phoronix]

Phoronix: Linux 5.19 Finally Removes Obsolete x86 a.out Support

Way back in 2019 the Linux kernel deprecated a.out support given that it was superseded by ELF, which itself has already been supported for over two decades going back to Linux 1.x kernels. With Linux 5.19, the obsolete 32-bit x86 a.out support is finally being removed for good from the kernel...

https://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=Linux-5.19-Drops-x86-a.out

[commodore256]

If you need m68k support, chances are, you should probably be using a more minimalist optimized OS. Linux today is more of a glorified monolithic HAL for hardware made in the past 20 years and run servers. Modern Linux is meant for more modern paradigms and you can always run 5.18 in a VM if you really need A.out on a modern machine.

There are UNIX clones for IA-16 and 6502s. I like the old paradigm, but I like it with modern wisdom from lessons learned and it's best to start fresh, it's like legacy is like hoarding and starting fresh with learned wisdom is like cleaning out the closet and then furnishing better and being more organized without trash all over the floor

[rene]

Thank godness: finally, my Ryzen 5950x will boot 1ns faster https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NUq39Jz5ZJI

[uid313]

What else is probably going to get removed soon, and what do you wish would get removed?

I wish they would remove BIOS, ext2, ext3, ISA/PCI/AGP/PCMCIA and all architectures other than x86-64, ARM and RISC-V.

[kpedersen]

starting fresh with learned wisdom is like cleaning out the closet and then furnishing better and being more organized without trash all over the floor

True but the entirety of the x86[_64] architecture is layers of legacy crap ontop of one another and it is unlikely the industry will be getting rid of them any time soon. Sometimes people have work to do and can't spend time reinventing a minimally rounder wheel

I think Linux in general (minus any of the "freedesktop" stuff which is overly heavy for what it offers) is still great for old platforms. Especially since the original vendors have long dropped support for them.

[commodore256]

Thank godness: finally, my Ryzen 5950x will boot 1ns faster https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NUq39Jz5ZJI

I loved your April Fools Day video of installing Linux on a 486 and the punchline was you actually did it

Though I like the ambition of Linux still working on a 486, I see contemporary Linux as a bad OS for old hardware. I came to an epiphany about AMD's buggy IA-16 support and it was "What IA-16 compiled Application do I need to run at a full 5Ghz in a hypervisor instead of just emulating a 486?". It's not about throwing legacy away for performance on contemporary hardware, it's about human resource allocation.

I think there should be a legacy linux fork with anything that supports a PCIe or USB 3.0 Stack thrown away and let that support a.out, it should run fine in a VM, VMs are good enough for hackintosh users these days.

I look forward to your nuanced take on this issue.

[macemoneta]

If you need m68k support, chances are, you should probably be using a more minimalist optimized OS. Linux today is more of a glorified monolithic HAL for hardware made in the past 20 years and run servers. Modern Linux is meant for more modern paradigms and you can always run 5.18 in a VM if you really need A.out on a modern machine.

OpenWRT is a very light Linux built for IoT devices, routers, and similar. Linux is very flexible.

[microcode]

That's it? Why even bother with this...

[microcode]

I loved your April Fools Day video of installing Linux on a 486 and the punchline was you actually did it

Though I like the ambition of Linux still working on a 486, I see contemporary Linux as a bad OS for old hardware. I came to an epiphany about AMD's buggy IA-16 support and it was "What IA-16 compiled Application do I need to run at a full 5Ghz in a hypervisor instead of just emulating a 486?". It's not about throwing legacy away for performance on contemporary hardware, it's about human resource allocation.

I think there should be a legacy linux fork with anything that supports a PCIe or USB 3.0 Stack thrown away and let that support a.out, it should run fine in a VM, VMs are good enough for hackintosh users these days.

I look forward to your nuanced take on this issue.

If you build Linux 4.14 with an appropriate config, is it really so bad on a 486? I feel like it isn't that wasteful... but what would I know.

[dragon321]

What else is probably going to get removed soon, and what do you wish would get removed?

I wish they would remove BIOS, ext2, ext3, ISA/PCI/AGP/PCMCIA and all architectures other than x86-64, ARM and RISC-V.

ext2 and ext3 are already handled by ext4 driver which was designed as backward compatible. AGP was also proposed for removal. For PCI and PCMCIA it's probably too early. As for architectures what about Power ISA?

Sure, there is no point of keeping old things forever but there is also no point of limiting support only for recent and/or most popular things.