Assuming binutils and GCC features

["Joseph S. Myers" <joseph at codesourcery dot com>]

Among the cases where the toplevel configure script has 
architecture-specific cases for non-ex-ports architectures, while ex-ports 
architectures use configure or preconfigure fragments to keep such code in 
sysdeps (the preferred approach) is the setting of libc_commonpagesize and 
libc_relro_required for the test for linker -z relro support.

Is there any actual likelihood of this support not working for any 
supported architecture and binutils version (we require binutils 2.20 or 
later)?  The binutils support appears to date from 2004.  I think it might 
make sense simply to remove the configure test for -z relro support, and 
just use -z relro without checking if it's working (we already use it 
unconditionally, the question is simply whether configure checks for it 
being broken) - like we use any number of features unconditionally without 
special checks, rather than moving variable settings to several 
preconfigure fragments.

Another similar case is the test for assembler CFI directives, which also 
involves an architecture-specific parameter (different for SPARC).  Again, 
I'd think we could assume this unconditionally.

There are lots of other configure tests for binutils and GCC features that 
seem similarly long-obsolete and ripe for removal, although not affecting 
cleanup of architecture cases in architecture-independent files.

-- 
Joseph S. Myers
joseph@codesourcery.com