cvs commit: src/sys/conf files.i386 files.pc98 options.i386 isa_device.h pcf.c

[Scott Long]

On Sun, 14 Mar 2004, Alfred Perlstein wrote:
> * Scott Long <scottl at freebsd.org> [040314 18:18] wrote:
> > On Sun, 14 Mar 2004, Warner Losh wrote:
> > > imp         2004/03/14 15:03:57 PST
> > >
> > >   Remove isa compat stuff.
> > >
> >
> > I applaud your work here, but I really wish that you had resolved pc98
> > before axeing the files.  When do you anticiapte that the pc98 tinderbox
> > will stop failing?
>
> Removed ISA_COMPAT so that... ?
>
> We have less drivers?
> Paves the way for feature X?
> Paves the way for ...?
>
> If it's just to remove something that's "ugly" but doesn't have an
> impact on things, then it's not really in our best interest to remove
> something that _works_ when a replacement is not even needed.
>

Actually, the ISA compat shims don't work in 5.x.  The only purpose that
they served was to allow those drivers to keep compiling.  I believe that
Warner verified that many of the drivers didn't actually work.  So when
something doesn't work for several years and no one is motivated to fix
it, why leave it around to rott even further?  What if you are doing an
API sweep and have to touch this driver; how can you possibly know that
you aren't breaking the driver further?

Scott