[Arm-netbook] Executable size, armv6 vs armv7

[cnxsoft]

On 24/04/2012 16:41, Barry Kauler wrote:
> 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
>
> _______________________________________________
>
Linaro also found significant size differences when compiling the kernel
http://lists.linaro.org/pipermail/linaro-dev/2011-April/004106.html

The performance might be slightly slower however.  If you are interested 
in performance tests with different build options, you may also want to 
read https://wiki.linaro.org/MichaelHope/Sandbox/CoreMark1 . This is a 
little old (over 1 year), but might still be interesting.