Hello,
IBM offers a evaluation version of their XL C/C++ compiler. Unfortunatly v16.1 (from Developerworks) can not be installed on AIX 5.3 (I can not upgrade my old 32 Bit RS/6000 to a later version) and I have not found any older versions on the IBM and Developerworks pages.
Is there a ftp server or mirror where I can find older versions of the evaluation version? The last version that worked on AIX 5.3 was v12.1 but a older version would also be ok.
Ralf
Hello,
I have a RS6000 43P and I'm like you, I'm looking for a XLC Compiler for AIX 5.3
Tell me if you find one.
Thanks,
Marc
Marc,
please send me an email with your contact data. Maybe it is not a good idea to talk about links to "hidden" or "forgotten" IBM website download sources here in the forum (legal causes)
I would send you an email to share the information if I find something that works.
My address:
BTW ... a 43P ... nice machine. Still usable for development.
Ralf
I have 2 43P-140 which i used back in the days for development as well as cluster configurations. I haven't switched them on for a long time now and keep them mainly for sentimental purposes, along a Sun U05. The 43P-140 with its PowerPC 603e was able to run AIX 5.1 (or maybe 5.2 - i never bothered to update because 5.2 was a disaster anyways) but definitely not 5.3.
Having said this: in many cases it is possible to use the GCC compiler suite for AIX to compile software for AIX. This won't work always and sometimes the resulting binaries do not run reliably but for a first test this is usually OK. The evaluation versions of IBMs XlC compiler suite will create permanently usable code but will itself only work for a very short (IIRC 4 weeks) time. They are meant to evaluate the compiler, not the resulting binaries.
bakunin
First ... I have read and understood the comment of the Moderator and I will follow the rules if I find something that would bring an older version of XLC to an old AIX version. I already have a way to "build" a working compiler with components that can be found on IBM servers, but it would not be a leagal way like the official trial/evaluation version. The email address was a way to get this discussion out of the forum.
I will contact a moderator before I post a leagal way to bring a trial verions of the IBM compiler to old AIX systems (if I find a solution).
This is what I was looking for. A working and legal version of XLC to reenact a problem that I had many years ago. GCC is not an option.
About the 43P. Really strange. The software map of this system tells: "AIX 5.1 was the last supported version". But my old, tiny and weak 7046-B50 (with the sam CPU) supported AIX 5.3.
I'm also using GCC on AIX 5.3 but it is not a good compiler for old AIX versions. The evaluation time of XL C/C++ was/is 60 days and there is a leagal way to extend this time to 72 days.
That would be more than enough time for me. I just want to compile an older version of an open source software and see it it works. GCC has problems with inline assembler code (on AIX). But it should work with the IBM compiler.
First off: thank you for your consideration. You did nothing wrong but i thought it a good idea to clearly state some points proactively.
If i remember correctly (sorry, but this is some time ago now) the support for the Power3 generation was dropped only with the introduction of AIX 6. 5.3 worked on the S80, the 6H0 and similar systems which all had Power3-processors. The difference between the B50 (i think that was a rack-mounted system, wasn't it) was not so much the processor but the B50 being a real CHRP system which the 43P was not although it had PCI slots. Maybe this was the difference. It might also be that 5.3 would run on the 43P but simply was not supported out of marketing reasons. IBM is full of these stories.
There are people using the XlC compiler to compile (and package) open-source software since a long time. You might be lucky and find i.e. the version you are looking for in Michael Perzls archives since he has available older versions too, some even compiled for AIX 5.1.
I hope this helps.
bakunin
Hello,
I confirm that my 43P works with AIX 5.3.
Marco
bakunin,
I have already tried the GCC version from Michael Perzls page to compile a software that is not avaiable as a RPM (Hercules Mainframe Emulator). Even newer GCC version have the same problem with inline assembler code like this:
1: lwarx 25,0,31
cmpw 0,25,30
bne 2f
stwcx. 0,0,31
bne- 1b
sync
2:
I remember, that XL C/C++ did not have this problem.
I also had to change a lot of other code to get a (almost) usable running version of Hercules.
I am well aware that GCC has its shortcomings with AIX. i suggested Michael Perzls (and Michael Felts) page because i know for a fact both of them use XlC (not GCC) for compilation. It might have been that Michael Perzl had already compiled (and packaged) the software you were looking for so you could have tried it even if you don't have a XlC yourself.
In general i would not use any software compiled with GCC under AIX for any productive system (and probably not even test systems). The code quality - as you said already, especially when it comes to inline assembler - is terrible.
Another problem is that memory management in AIX is unlike any other OS i know and some programs which behave well under Linux may become memory sinks in AIX when compiled with GCC for a reason i do not claim to understand fully. But then i am so far removed from software development nowadays that this may be understandable. The days when i developed software instead of systems administration are 25 years past.
I hope this helps.
bakunin