linux-kernel - Re: [PATCH v2 0/8] scheduler tinification

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Date:   Thu, 8 Jun 2017 19:14:29 +0100
From:   Alan Cox <gnomes@...rguk.ukuu.org.uk>
To:     Ingo Molnar <mingo@...nel.org>
Cc:     Nicolas Pitre <nicolas.pitre@...aro.org>,
        Ingo Molnar <mingo@...hat.com>,
        Peter Zijlstra <peterz@...radead.org>,
        linux-kernel@...r.kernel.org,
        Linus Torvalds <torvalds@...ux-foundation.org>,
        Thomas Gleixner <tglx@...utronix.de>
Subject: Re: [PATCH v2 0/8] scheduler tinification

> As users ask for more features the the hardware capabilities will increase 
> dramatically and home-grown microcontroller derived code plus minimal OSes will be 
> replaced by a 'real' OS. Because both developers and users will demand IPv6 
> compatibility, or Bluetooth connectivity, or storage support, or any random range 
> of features we have in the Linux kernel.

There are already tiny OS's with that feature set but they don't feel
Unixish and aren't quite so fun to program.

> Even taking the 1MB size at face value (which I don't: a networking enabled system 
> can probably not function very well with just 1MB of RAM) - the RAM-starved 1 MB 
> system today will effectively be a 2 MB system in 2 years.

Probably not - I may be wrong but power and what you can and can't put on
the same die are likely to mean that small RAM devices are here for a
while and in fact the CFO will be ordering the engineers to get it in
less RAM to save 20 cents a unit.

> And yes, I don't claim Moore's law will go on forever and I'm oversimplifying - 
> maybe things are slowing down and it will only be 1.5 MB, but the point remains: 
> the importance of your 20kb .text savings will become a 10-15k .text savings in 
> just 2 years. In 8 years today's 1 MB system will be a 32 MB system if that trend 
> holds up.

Power means it's more likely IMHO that todays 256K RAM system will in a
few years be either a 64K RAM system or have tons of persistent memory.

Alan