[Arm-netbook] Executable size, armv6 vs armv7

[Barry Kauler]

Guys,
There was recently some discussion on this mail list about why we
would want to compile for a armv7-specific CPU or go for something
lower.

There was a lack of data on this. For example, the thumb2 instructions
in the armv7 are supposed to reduce executable size, but we don't know
by how much.

I have got my first comparison. I am running Ubuntu Lucid from SD card
(the one that Tom uploaded :) ), and I optioned it up with many -dev
packages, to be able to compile X and GTK apps.

I compiled ROX-Filer. I have reported about this on my blog:

http://bkhome.org/blog/?viewDetailed=02800

The size difference is very interesting, 361KB versus 489KB. I presume
that the second case is due to not using the thumb2 instructions? I
don't know what else could account for such a big difference.

For each test, I started with pristine source.

Regards,
Barry Kauler