Tiago,
In this case we are not introducing a hidden incompatibility, the developer
needs to disable it intentionally.

Remember: the POSIX is a moving target, so even time 32-bit used to be a
POSIX standard.

And since 64-bit time is supported, then the new POSIX standard is
compliant for users who want to use it with supported hardware.

BR,

Alan



On Wed, Jul 8, 2026 at 11:05 AM Tiago Medicci Serrano <
[email protected]> wrote:

> Hi,
>
> If we intend to use the `INVIOLABLES.md`, we need to use it fully. This
> isn't a question about it, IMHO.
> Strict POSIX compliance
>
>    - Strict conformance to the portable standard OS interface as defined at
>    OpenGroup.org.
>    - A deeply embedded system requires some special support. Special
>    support must be minimized.
>    - The portable interface must never be compromised only for the sake of
>    expediency.
>    - *Expediency or even improved performance are not justifications for
>    violation of the strict POSIX interface.*
>
> Best regards,
>
> Em qua., 8 de jul. de 2026 às 10:48, Sebastien Lorquet <
> [email protected]>
> escreveu:
>
> > Hello
> >
> > Quoting INVIOLABLES.md
> >
> >
> >     All Users Matter
> >
> > ...
> >
> > # We should seek to expand the NuttX user base, not to limit it for
> > reasons of preference or priority.
> > # We must resist the pull to make NuttX into a Linux-only, GCC-only, and
> > ARM-only solution.
> >
> >
> >
> > Sebastien
> >
> >
> > On 7/8/26 15:44, Tiago Medicci Serrano wrote:
> > > Hi!
> > >
> > > Do we have any metrics about such chips? Does anyone use them? This is
> > > important to build a strong opinion on whether to create exceptions
> given
> > > our limited resources and the availability of more modern chips and
> > > features to be implemented.
> > >
> > > My point is all about focusing on what matters. Eventually, some chips
> > may
> > > be lost while NuttX (or any other OS) evolves. This is something
> natural
> > > for any project. To create exceptions, we need to think of NuttX as a
> > > product. Do we have customers that require it? How important is that?
> > >
> > > Best regards,
> > >
> > > Em qua., 8 de jul. de 2026 às 10:27, Alan C. Assis<[email protected]>
> > > escreveu:
> > >
> > >> Exactly! That is the point!
> > >>
> > >> It will be an option for people using MCUs with < 64KB Flash memory.
> > Thank
> > >> you Karel.
> > >>
> > >> My suggestion add inside:
> > >> RTOS Features -->
> > >>      [*] Disable NuttX interfaces
> > >>          [*] Disable POSIX Compatibility (default N and depends on
> > >> DEFAULT_SMALL)
> > >>             Only after this option user will be able to disable TIME64
> > and
> > >> LIBC_LONG_LONG
> > >>
> > >> Also, I think the "DEFAULT_SMALL" symbol is a confusing name, I
> suggest
> > >> renaming it to "SMALL_KERNEL" or similar.
> > >>
> > >> BR,
> > >>
> > >> Alan
> > >>
> > >> On Wed, Jul 8, 2026 at 10:07 AM Karel Kočí<[email protected]> wrote:
> > >>
> > >>> Hi
> > >>>
> > >>> My two cents:
> > >>>
> > >>> * Nobody is suggesting to break POSIX compatibility for everyone.
> > Alan's
> > >>>    suggestion is to have option to break it to reduce the size.
> > >>> * It might be worth it to explicitly track chips that do support
> POSIX
> > in
> > >>> NuttX
> > >>>    fully and those that need compromises.
> > >>>
> > >>> Just two cents..
> > >>> Karel
> > >>>
> > >>>
> > >>> On Wed 08 Jul 2026 07:49:10 AM , Tiago Medicci Serrano wrote:
> > >>>> Hi!
> > >>>>
> > >>>> I don't think NuttX getting bigger is an issue at all. Of course, we
> > >>> should
> > >>>> care about code size: this is an important metric to be aware of,
> and
> > we
> > >>>> should avoid unnecessary code.
> > >>>>
> > >>>> This is not the case here. The recent code changes are required to
> be
> > >>>> compatible with modern POSIX systems. Removing them just to fit on
> > >>> smaller
> > >>>> MCUs would be intentionally making NuttX worse just to make it fit
> > into
> > >>>> MCUs that we don't have any usage analytics for.
> > >>>>
> > >>>> Systems evolve. Linux kernel is deprecating support for older CPUs.
> > >>>>
> > >>>> People use NuttX because it's POSIX-compatible and the burden of
> > >>> migrating
> > >>>> applications is lower: that's the goal we should pursue first, IMHO.
> > >>>> People use Zephyr for other reasons.
> > >>>>
> > >>>> Best regards,
> > >>>>
> > >>>> Em ter., 7 de jul. de 2026 às 17:08, Alan C. Assis<
> [email protected]>
> > >>>> escreveu:
> > >>>>
> > >>>>> I know it was discussed a lot, but I think removing
> > >>> CONFIG_LIBC_LONG_LONG
> > >>>>> alone (because TIME64) added about 2KB:
> > >>>>>
> > >>>>> Current mainline:
> > >>>>>
> > >>>>> $ arm-none-eabi-size nuttx
> > >>>>>     text   data    bss    dec    hex filename
> > >>>>>    64008   1548   3996  69552  10fb0 nuttx
> > >>>>>
> > >>>>> Beforehttps://github.com/apache/nuttx/pull/18840 (at commit
> > >>>>> 4f6e695f7c56aa5a321008ca8e5ddd47e1959e4d) :
> > >>>>>
> > >>>>> $ arm-none-eabi-size nuttx
> > >>>>>     text   data    bss    dec    hex filename
> > >>>>>    61936   1548   3764  67248  106b0 nuttx
> > >>>>>
> > >>>>> For 64KB Flash, these 2KB doesn't appear too much, but consider
> that
> > >>> these
> > >>>>> are 2KB that we never can get rid of.
> > >>>>>
> > >>>>> So, few years ago NuttX was able to fit inside a 32KB and 4KB RAM
> > MCU:
> > >>>>> (LPC1114FN28:
> > >>>>> https://www.flickr.com/photos/79703543@N00/18013069041/sizes/l/ )
> > >>>>>
> > >>>>> If we keep increasing at this rhythm very soon people will have
> > >>> another
> > >>>>> reason to use Zephyr:https://gzm-emb.com/blog/zephyr-16kb/ (in
> this
> > >>>>> example it was 105KB Flash and 16KB, so we still have hope).
> > >>>>>
> > >>>>> The same way we reconsidered the signals, I think we should give
> the
> > >>> user
> > >>>>> the option to disable TIME64 and LIBC_LONG_LONG and run NuttX on
> > >>> small MCUs.
> > >>>>> BR,
> > >>>>>
> > >>>>> Alan
> > >>>>>
> > >>>>> On Tue, Jul 7, 2026 at 12:17 PM Alan C. Assis<[email protected]>
> > >>> wrote:
> > >>>>>> Hi Michael,
> > >>>>>>
> > >>>>>> Thank you very much, in fact the printf implementation that NuttX
> > >>> uses
> > >>>>>> currently was contributed by Keith Packard himself some years ago.
> > >>>>>>
> > >>>>>> But I don't know how it compares to his new picolibc.
> > >>>>>>
> > >>>>>> BR,
> > >>>>>>
> > >>>>>> Alan
> > >>>>>>
> > >>>>>> On Tue, Jul 7, 2026 at 11:50 AM Michael Jung <
> > [email protected]
> > >>>>>> wrote:
> > >>>>>>
> > >>>>>>> Hi Alan, all,
> > >>>>>>>
> > >>>>>>> I believe picolibc has a very size efficient implementation of
> > >>> printf
> > >>>>>>> and scanf.  See Keith's talk
> > >>> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3Vxr0iLIUE
> > >>>>>>> at minute 13:06.
> > >>>>>>>
> > >>>>>>> Bye,
> > >>>>>>> Michael
> > >>>>>>>
> > >>>>>>> On Tue, Jul 7, 2026 at 4:33 PM Alan C. Assis<[email protected]>
> > >>> wrote:
> > >>>>>>>> Hi Everyone,
> > >>>>>>>>
> > >>>>>>>> Seems like we NuttX got great in the last few years.
> > >>>>>>>>
> > >>>>>>>> Although in general it is still using very little RAM memory and
> > it
> > >>>>>>>> uses a lot of Flash.
> > >>>>>>>>
> > >>>>>>>> So, even boards with 64KB of Flash are breaking:
> > >>>>>>>>
> > >>>>>>>>
> > >>>
> >
> ====================================================================================
> > >>>>>>>> Cmake in present:
> > >>>>>>>> nucleo-f302r8/ihm07m1_b16,CONFIG_ARM_TOOLCHAIN_GNU_EABI
> > >>>>>>>> Configuration/Tool:
> > >>>>>>>> nucleo-f302r8/ihm07m1_b16,CONFIG_ARM_TOOLCHAIN_GNU_EABI
> > >>>>>>>> 2026-07-07 13:44:43
> > >>>>>>>>
> > >>>
> >
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> > >>>>>>>> Cleaning...
> > >>>>>>>> Configuring...
> > >>>>>>>> Select HOST_LINUX=y
> > >>>>>>>> TOOLS_DIR path is "/github/workspace/sources/nuttx"
> > >>>>>>>> HOST = Linux
> > >>>>>>>> Disabling CONFIG_ARM_TOOLCHAIN_GNU_EABI
> > >>>>>>>> Enabling CONFIG_ARM_TOOLCHAIN_GNU_EABI
> > >>>>>>>> Building NuttX...
> > >>>>>>>> TOOLS_DIR path is "/github/workspace/sources/nuttx"
> > >>>>>>>> HOST = Linux
> > >>>>>>>> [1/5] cd /github/workspace/sources/nuttx/build/libs/libc/misc &&
> > >>>>>>>> /usr/local/bin/cmake -E touch
> > >>>>>>>> /github/workspace/sources/nuttx/libs/libc/misc/lib_utsname.c
> > >>>>>>>> [2/5] Linking C executable nuttx
> > >>>>>>>> FAILED: nuttx
> > >>>>>>>> : && /tools/ccache/bin/arm-none-eabi-gcc --specs=nosys.specs
> > >>>>>>>> -Wl,--print-memory-usage -Wl,--entry=__start -nostdlib
> > >>> -Wl,--gc-sections
> > >>>>>>>> -Wl,--cref -Wl,-Map=nuttx.map @CMakeFiles/nuttx.rsp -o nuttx &&
> :
> > >>>>>>>>
> > >>>
> >
> /tools/gcc-arm-none-eabi/bin/../lib/gcc/arm-none-eabi/13.2.1/../../../../arm-none-eabi/bin/ld:
> > >>>>>>>> nuttx section `.data' will not fit in region `flash'
> > >>>>>>>>
> > >>>
> >
> /tools/gcc-arm-none-eabi/bin/../lib/gcc/arm-none-eabi/13.2.1/../../../../arm-none-eabi/bin/ld:
> > >>>>>>>> region `flash' overflowed by 4 bytes
> > >>>>>>>> Memory region Used Size Region Size %age Used
> > >>>>>>>> flash: 65540 B 64 KB 100.01%
> > >>>>>>>> sram: 5556 B 16 KB 33.91%
> > >>>>>>>> collect2: error: ld returned 1 exit status
> > >>>>>>>> ninja: build stopped: subcommand failed.
> > >>>>>>>> cp: cannot stat 'nuttx.hex': No such file or directory
> > >>>>>>>> cp: cannot stat 'nuttx.bin': No such file or directory
> > >>>>>>>> cp: cannot stat 'nuttx.hex': No such file or directory
> > >>>>>>>> cp: cannot stat 'nuttx.bin': No such file or directory
> > >>>>>>>> /github/workspace/sources/nuttx /github/workspace/sources/nuttx
> > >>>>>>>>
> > >>>>>>>> It is important to notice that CONFIG_DEFAULT_SMALL is already
> > >>> defined
> > >>>>>>>> to it.
> > >>>>>>>>
> > >>>>>>>> Analyzing the 20 biggest functions there is not a single
> culprit,
> > >>> so
> > >>>>>>>> probably we need to reduce the overall functions size:
> > >>>>>>>>
> > >>>>>>>> $ arm-none-eabi-nm --print-size --size-sort --radix dec -C
> nuttx |
> > >>> grep
> > >>>>>>>> ' [TtWw] ' | tail -20
> > >>>>>>>> 134243508 00000390 t pwm_configure
> > >>>>>>>> 134217728 00000392 T _vectors
> > >>>>>>>> 134229344 00000396 t adc_read
> > >>>>>>>> 134249208 00000400 t file_vioctl
> > >>>>>>>> 134218408 00000424 T stm32_configgpio
> > >>>>>>>> 134269892 00000448 T motor_aobserver_nfo_b16
> > >>>>>>>> 134231544 00000448 t uart_writev
> > >>>>>>>> 134239368 00000460 t stm32_foc_setup
> > >>>>>>>> 134261888 00000468 T parse_args
> > >>>>>>>> 134264176 00000500 T foc_motor_init
> > >>>>>>>> 134263096 00000540 T foc_fixed16_thr
> > >>>>>>>> 134256256 00000540 T nxsig_tcbdispatch
> > >>>>>>>> 134233432 00000540 t uart_ioctl
> > >>>>>>>> 134265056 00000612 T foc_motor_control
> > >>>>>>>> 134265668 00000648 T foc_motor_handle
> > >>>>>>>> 134231992 00000652 t uart_readv
> > >>>>>>>> 134260828 00000692 T foc_main
> > >>>>>>>> 134252412 00000700 T __udivmoddi4
> > >>>>>>>> 134245448 00000860 t nsh_parse_command
> > >>>>>>>> 134258408 00001234 t vsprintf_internal.constprop.0
> > >>>>>>>>
> > >>>>>>>> I can't resist to ask the Claude to analyze these data, and it
> > >>> gave us
> > >>>>>>>> some picture of current code tree:
> > >>>>>>>>
> > >>>>>>>> [image: image.png]
> > >>>>>>>>
> > >>>>>>>> And seems like NSH and printf (vsprintf) are the biggest
> > offenders:
> > >>>>>>>>
> > >>>>>>>> [image: image.png]
> > >>>>>>>>
> > >>>>>>>> So, if someone has some suggestions on how we can improve this
> > >>>>>>>> scenario, please let me know.
> > >>>>>>>>
> > >>>>>>>> At least now we have the option to disable some important
> features
> > >>> like
> > >>>>>>>> signals (that unfortunately will break POSIX compatibility). But
> > >>> maybe we
> > >>>>>>>> can apply some diet to NSH and printf to improve it.
> > >>>>>>>>
> > >>>>>>>> BR,
> > >>>>>>>>
> > >>>>>>>> Alan
> > >>>>>>>>
>

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