[Raion]

> Why 32-bit ?

Because simpler. Doing 6.5.x is VASTLY more expensive, and I'm not only uncomfortable of asking that amount but unsure if the spark would remain here.

> Surely it would be better to start with OpenBSD/sgi[...]

No. It would not save any time, and the end result would not be the same thing. Solaris is closer to IRIX than BSD, GNU/Linux or any other OS, but it's still miles apart and illumos is much newer.

To advise on the difficulty of what you're asking, what you're suggesting is instead of driving across the rural highways of the Outback to get from Canberra to Perth, you instead suggest taking Quantas to Madagascar, modifying your vehicle to be amphibious and then sail across the Indian Ocean in the middle of typhoon season while flying the flag of ISIS.

It's going to be difficult doing it the way that I have proposed but any other way is way too much time, money and such. Have you even used a BSD, much less on MIPS?

> Then focus exclusively on the SGI/OS HW/SW interface areas and IRIX compatable ABI so exisitng Applications can run.

This in particular is the problem. It's not possible to write new graphics drivers for SGI hardware once you get past the 2D boards like the Newport. They are not like a modern graphics driver but instead use a form of microcode with an opengl interface over it that passes commands to the card. The problem is you can't decompile microcode. So throw out graphics drivers. It's not gonna work. The only systems with PCI interfaces to use very ancient graphics cards from 15 to 20 years ago is a small fraction of the entire community.

And trying to reconstruct the IRIX ABI is a lot like asking for someone to clone the Empire State Building down to the exact rivet with just a copy of Warhol's film Empire which only shows the very top of the building anyways. It's not impossible but it is very very difficult.

So no, jwhat, I understand your concerns but we're not changing course. There is no other practical way to do this and that's the simplest way I can explain to somebody without a modicum of background in systems programming. The only other ways that would be feasible would be of questionable legality, be illegal to distribute under US and EU law, and still require an army of programmers who would have to at that point work for free because when you commit a crime and profit off of it, you end up having stricter penalties including charges of racketeering.