linux-kernel - Re: [PATCH 3/3] arm64: configs: unset CPU_BIG

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Date:   Mon, 14 Oct 2019 17:24:17 +0100
From:   Will Deacon <will@...nel.org>
To:     Russell King - ARM Linux admin <linux@...linux.org.uk>
Cc:     Arnd Bergmann <arnd@...db.de>,
        Anders Roxell <anders.roxell@...aro.org>,
        Catalin Marinas <catalin.marinas@....com>,
        John Garry <john.garry@...wei.com>,
        Linux Kernel Mailing List <linux-kernel@...r.kernel.org>,
        Olof Johansson <olof@...om.net>,
        Linux ARM <linux-arm-kernel@...ts.infradead.org>,
        Chunrong Guo <chunrong.guo@....com>
Subject: Re: [PATCH 3/3] arm64: configs: unset CPU_BIG_ENDIAN

On Sat, Oct 12, 2019 at 03:50:55PM +0100, Russell King - ARM Linux admin wrote:
> On Sat, Oct 12, 2019 at 12:47:45AM +0200, Arnd Bergmann wrote:
> > On Fri, Oct 11, 2019 at 12:33 PM Russell King - ARM Linux admin
> > <linux@...linux.org.uk> wrote:
> > > 32-bit ARM experience is that telco class users really like big
> > > endian.
> > 
> > Right, basically anyone with a large code base migrated over from a
> > big-endian MIPS or PowerPC legacy that found it cheaper to change
> > the rest of the world than to fix their own code.
> 
> I think you need to step off your soap box!  Big endian isn't going
> away, and it likely has nothing to do with code bases.  Just look at
> networking and telco protocols.  Everything in that world tends to
> be big endian.  BE is what is understood in that world, and there's
> little we can do to change it.
> 
> Demanding that they switch to LE is tantamount to you demanding that
> their entire world change - it ain't going to happen.

Oh, I wasn't demanding anything! Just interested to know if big-endian is
actually being used because it's not something that I'm able to test
sensibly and I haven't see anywhere near the amount of (public) effort to
keep it supported as for little-endian. However, having asked the question,
it's clear that it does have some users so we'll keep maintaining it on a
best-effort basis and rely on those users to let us know if anything breaks.

Will