Re: [gccsdk] Sorry. Forgot

On Sat, Jul 31, 2021 at 02:08:38PM +0100, wra1th+gavin wrote:
> For the first time I have launched the command
> ./build-world (using Raspbian on a rpi4). It requires considerable patience,
> and faith because there is little to tell you that the build process is not
> stuck in a loop. It would be good if the web page gave a hint of how many
> hours the build-process is likely to take. It feels like inspecting the DNA
> of an ant by telescope from the moon.

In general build processes don't get stuck in loops - if they're generating
output it means they're making progress. If the build stops with an error,
that's more of a concern.

The time the build takes really depends on your hardware - if you have a
fast PC or server with many cores it's a lot quicker than if you have a
lightweight laptop or a development board like a Pi. It also depends a lot
on your storage - an SSD is likely to be a lot better than an SD card or a
HDD.

That said, it appears the build instructions on the website didn't describe
how to run a build that uses all the cores in your computer - in the case of
your Pi4 that means running one core not four. Using four cores isn't 4x as
fast (the GCCSDK build has a lot of autoconf which doesn't use all the
cores) but it's better.

I've now edited the page:
https://www.riscos.info/index.php/Using_GCCSDK#Building_the_cross-compiler
to describe how to run parallel builds, and to clarify how long it might
take.

Using that on a server with 72 threads reduces the build time from 67 to 16
minutes. Nowhere near a 72x speedup, but worth having.

Theo

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