HP-UX 11i Version 2 December 2005 Release Notes

Introduction to HP-UX 11i Version 2
HP-UX 11i v2 Compatibility
Chapter 2
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• Mixing binaries between PA-RISC and Intel Itanium. An application must be all
PA-RISC, all 32-bits or all 64-bits.
• Applications compiled on HP-UX 8.x or earlier.
• PA-RISC privileged instructions.
• Applications that depend on kernel data structures.
• Timing-dependent applications.
• Signaling via floating point Not a Numbers (NaNs).
• Applications or debuggers that use ptrace, ttrace, and profil system calls.
• Core dumps for PA-RISC applications that abort.
• Automatic synchronization of data and instruction caches for applications that
dynamically generate code such as Java.
• Applications that read the B-bit in the Process Status Word (PSW).
• Applications that use maximum virtual memory (because the dynamic translator
itself consumes a small amount of the virtual memory of a process).
• Applications that rely on differences between vfork and fork system calls.
• The emulation of debugging tools that have architectural dependencies on the
PA-RISC architecture.
Recompiling 32-Bit PA-RISC Applications for Native Execution on
Itanium-based systems
In nearly all cases, 32-bit PA-RISC applications can be recompiled for native execution
on Itanium-based systems without source code modifications. This is true because the
HP compilers for Intel Itanium support both 32-bit and 64-bit data models.
In the case of a 32-bit PA-RISC application that is being recompiled for native execution
on Itanium-based systems, the compiler will emit instructions that cause the
application to behave as though it is a 32-bit application executing on a 32-bit
architecture even though the underlying architecture is 64 bits. This is transparent to
the application; it has no awareness that it is actually executing on a 64-bit architecture.
It is this feature of the HP compilers that allows the vast majority of 32-bit PA-RISC
applications to be recompiled without source code modification for native execution on
the Intel Itanium architecture.
Help for Independent Software Vendors (ISVs) Moving to HP-UX 11i v2
Independent Software Vendors (ISVs) whose HP-UX 11i v1 application meets the
criteria for binary compatibility (i.e., not kernel intrusive, etc.) and fails to function on
HP-UX 11i v2 for HP 9000 as it functions on HP-UX v1, can contact HP through a
special support line (for North America) at 1-800-249-3294 and use option 2, and then
option 1. Help is also available alternatively by sending an e-mail to [e-mail].
When calling this number or sending an e-mail, identify the problem as a compatibility
failure and the support staff will help you with the situation.