Re: dev systems for z/OS

[Bruno Haible]

Mike Fulton wrote:
> Definitely we want dev systems to be available for people as well.

That would definitely help with the porting, by enabling volunteers
to participate efficiently.

There are three ways to contribute such dev systems:
(a) Provide virtual machine images or installation images for use in
    virtual machines.
(b) Manage the machine yourself, and create ssh accounts for people on demand.
(c) Work with the GCC compilefarm [1] people, so that anyone who has a GCC
    compilefarm account can use the machine.

Option (a), for z/OS, would not meet much developer acceptance, due to
speed: On the usual x86_64 hardware that most developers have, the emulation
of an s390x CPU (via qemu) leads to a system that roughly has the speed of a
Pentium IV in 2000. While it is workable, it is not exactly a developer's
dream :)

Option (b): If there are restrictions such as, for example, that the account
will be automatically deleted after two months, that would not fit most
developers' way of working.

Option (c): This option implies finding an agreement with the GCC compilefarm
admins regarding hosting and administration of the machine. The benefits of
this option are wide developer acceptance. For example, once the Loongson
company offered two of their machines to the compilefarm, several packages
were ported within a week, without the Loongson people having to do anything
(other than to fix bugs in their GCC port :)).

Bruno

[1] https://cfarm.tetaneutral.net/