make -j # Of cores Applicability?
1 08 Jan 2018 02:09 by u/Frygar
My poor assumption was that the modern kernels put most things into multiple cores, why does -j exist unless to throttle make? And if that is the case why not instantiate it with a lower priority?
It's amazing that after all these years every new generation has to reinvent ALL the wheels not just the ones that went flat.
3 comments
0 u/J_Darnley 08 Jan 2018 09:38
The default of make is to execute nothing in parallel. That is why you should use -j.
0 u/Frygar [OP] 08 Jan 2018 09:53
Well I remember when compiling a linux kernel on a fast X86 machine took over a day so I guess throwing half the cores of an idle server at make should be just dandy.
0 u/NeoGoat 30 Jan 2018 13:00
It would be more logical on multi-core machines to default to parallel; I guess they want to honor a legacy. I don't think there is a nice way to change the default behavior.