Linux x32 Support Brewing For Clang/Compiler-RT

Improvements for LLVM's support of the Linux x32 ABI is set to improve with some work-in-progress patches for the Clang C/C++ compiler front-end and Compiler-RT runtime library.

Steven Newbury has been working on a complete Gentoo Linux desktop system running on the Linux x32 ABI -- bringing x86_64 benefits to more like a 32-bit world. As part of this Gentoo x32 work, Newbury has published some early Clang/Compiler-RT patches to improve the x32 handling and build upon the LLVM x32 code that was merged last year.

The new LLVM x32 ABI code isn't yet complete and ready for merging, but it's moving in that direction. While the x32 ABI is a technologically interesting project, there still hasn't been much adoption (or interest) of this Linux ABI that's supported by the Linux kernel, GCC, glibc, GDB, and other key system components.