Re: multiarch/bi-arch status (ETA) question
On Tuesday 05 July 2005 15:44, Goswin von Brederlow wrote:
> All current linux distributions are pure64. They only differ slightly
> in the amount of 32bit libs preinstalled (what debian has as
> ia32-libs). Multiarch is something that goes way beyond what other
> amd64 distributions have.
>
> Multiarch standardizes and greatly simplifies installing random 32bit
> packages on amd64 by making the packaging system aware of the fact. It
> does not change the ability to run 32bit apps on amd64 at all, you
Most current "64 bit" Linux distributions are not pure 64-bit but contain both
32 and 64 bit libraries. In other words, they are multi-arch.
This does not change the fact that it is a bodge.
I am running a pure 64 bit Debian system. The kernel, libraries and userland
are all compiled as 64-bit software, and that's the way it should be. Legacy
32-bit software is *always* going to hold you back. Whatever you want to get
working, just re-compile it in 64-bit mode -- it's as simple as make
clean, ./configure, make, su, make install.
Binary compatibility is irrelevant at best {every Linux machine already has a
compiler installed} and harmful at worst {Windows has wide-scale binary
compatibility -- and rampant malware}. All that matters is _source_
compatibility: that the same source code will compile cleanly on a range of
different architectures. Thanks to the excellent work done by the GNU
project in developing their compiler suite and automated configuration /
building tools, source compatibility is already a reality. And processors
are fast enough now that there is no time saved in using precompiled
binaries.
--
AJS
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