[OS X TeX] 64 Bit Binaries for TeX Live 2009
roberto avanzi
roberto.avanzi at online.de
Fri Nov 27 15:01:26 CET 2009
On Nov 25, 2009, at 18:03 , Richard Koch wrote:
> Roberto,
>
> On Nov 24, 2009, at 11:44 PM, roberto avanzi wrote:
>>
>> Why Snow Leopard as a minimum requirement? Leopard can run 64 bit
>> cli-only binaries.
>
> This was a deliberate choice. We compile both PPC and Intel binaries
> on Tiger, to support as many machines as possible. Since Leopard is
> already supported by these 32-bit binaries, and since the difference
> in speed between 32-bits and 64-bits is very small, we have the
> luxury of making the 64-bit binaries with the latest compilers and
> libraries. Thus the binaries are made on Snow Leopard and don't run
> on Leopard.
I see. The difference does not always seem that small (3.39 seconds
instead of 4.40 is a big gain) but as you mentioned, in most cases
there are no gains, so this is not going to change our lives ;-)
A lot of people have unrealistic expectations from going 64 bits. We
may get something on intel cpus because more registers are available,
but it is still a stupid ISA.
Roberto
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