[Gllug] Are i386 & i586 rpm's interchangeable?

[Alain Williams]

On Thu, Aug 16, 2001 at 01:55:19PM +0100, Paul Brazier wrote:
> Does this mean then that if a 586 binary uses these instructions it
> won't work properly on a 486?
Yes.

> Or is there some degree of backwards compatibility for the x86's at the
> machine code level?
A 486 will barf if it meets one of the new 586 instructions; however they
are compatible for the vast majority of the instruction set.

> Is it just coincidence that the 586 binaries I've got do seem to run OK
> on a 486 - that the compiler optimizer hasn't taken advantage of the new
> instructions of the 586?
Probably the latter.

> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: addw at phcomp.co.uk 
> 
> > But: 586 has some instructions that if used can make an app go faster.
> > So if you compile for the arcitecture that you have you can get better
> > code.

-- 
Alain Williams

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