RFC: Deprecate Old/Unused BSPs

[Joel Sherrill]

On Fri, May 31, 2024 at 2:57 AM <oss at c-mauderer.de> wrote:

> Hello Joel,
>
> Am 30.05.24 um 17:04 schrieb Joel Sherrill:
> > Hi
> >
> > In reviewing ports for deprecation, I noticed that a few architectures
> > have some very old BSPs which are unlikely to be used anymore. Dropping
> > architectures and BSPs is beneficial for a few reasons:
> >
> > + Architecture removal cuts down on tool configurations when building
> > all architectures.
> >
> > + BSP removal speeds up build sweep times which include
> > rtems-bsp-builder. That build sweep takes about 8 hours currently.
> >
> > + Often eliminates code that cannot be relicensed because I cannot find
> > the author.
> >
> > I would like to get some feedback on removing them.
> >
> > + ARM candidates include  at least csb336, csb337 and variants. gumstix.
> > edb7312, and smdk2410
>
> Maybe think about adding the original Beagle Board and the BeagleBoard
> xM to the list (beagleboardorig and beagleboardxm).
>
> Last time I tried that BSP (a few years back) it didn't work out of the
> box. And as far as I know, you can't buy these boards anymore, and it's
> even hard to find used ones (correct me if I'm wrong).
>

This is why we need a discussion. For at least the arm,  powerpc, and m68k,
there are a lot of BSPs and I have to believe some are no longer needed. I
don't want to kill any BSP that has an active user even if the hardware is
on
longer available.

Kinsey suggested we pick a minimum ARM level and use that as a first
cut at ARM BSPs. We need to be careful to consider space grade versions
of old CPUs though. And I do not want to purge that support from score.

For example, the m68k still has m68040 mvme* BSPs. Some
labs still have those. But the mrm332 for example, might be a good candidate
to remove. Strangely, https://robominds.com/ is still up and looks just
like it
did when I ordered the mrm332 OAR has. I don't think it has been out of the
box for almost a decade though. When we moved back then, the lab was
packed up and some boards are still in boxes.

>
> Best regards
>
> Christian
>
> >
> > + m68k candidates include mrm332, most Coldfire BSPs, and 68360 BSPs.
> > The only ones I currently see a need to keep are the mvme, mcf5282
> > based, and genmcf548x.
> >
> > + PowerPC should have some but I need help making a list
> >
> > Help is really needed to make this list. Please speak up. This type of
> > knowledge is in the community. I have no idea what BSPs are still in use
> > or even available any longer.
> >
> > We need to have a ticket on each targeting 6.1 for deprecation and a 7.1
> > ticket for removal. I am happy to do that part.
> >
> > Thanks.
> >
> > --joel
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > devel mailing list
> > devel at rtems.org
> > http://lists.rtems.org/mailman/listinfo/devel
>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.rtems.org/pipermail/devel/attachments/20240531/7a496d9b/attachment.htm>