[Gc-linux-devel] Virtual Memory

[Michael S. <st...@in...>]

On Jan 26, 2004, at 6:34 PM, <ro...@Ih...> wrote:
>>> Can't seem to get it running in DolWin at all. Is there anything
>>> special
>>> i need to do?
>>
>> DolWin won't work at the current status any more, because it does not
>> support virtual memory - GameCube games don't need it, but Linux
>> depends on it.
>
> What? Virtual memory? swapping? Urm, I compiled this out of my kernel, 
> why
> on earth would it be needed in a box with ram and no disk storage?

Without virtual memory, you'll have the following problems:
* If you run a program, the complete executable needs to be loaded into 
memory. With virtual memory the parts are loaded on demand.
* If a process forks off another process, the complete process needs to 
be duplicated. WIth VM, the data will be duplicated on a write access.
* You won't have any memory protection. Processes can overwrite other 
processes' memory. (I am not sure about this one.)

So turning VM off only needs more memory. It only makes sense for truly 
tiny systems (like ones with only 4 MB RAM) that need a tiny kernel and 
run optimized applications. At least this is my impression.

   Michael