* Arnd Bergmann <arnd@bergmann-dalldorf.de> [030111 06:03]: > > It seems like a waste to buy a 64-bit processor and only use 32-bit > > userspace binaries. There are several packages which would clearly > > benefit from 64 bit integers, and many others where the benefits are > > not obvious but could be determined through benchmarking. I would like > > to see a debian/control flag specifying which userspace would be > > "best" for a package, but for some reason I don't think this will be a > > popular idea. > > I also don't think it will be needed. Keep in mind that a system with > just an x86_64 kernel and the user space from an i386 system is > already working out of the box (modulo bugs). > As stuff gets ported/rebuilt, you just replace each package with > its 64 bit variant (or a dual 32/64 bit variant for libraries). > If it turns out that a certain package should/can not be build for > 64 bit, just leave it out and let apt fall back to the i386 > package. For developers there has to be a starting point -- that is, what does a developer wanting to port gnuchess install? Well, the solution proposed here sounds like a very good approach to me. It allows for having a stable user-space very early on, so that people _can_ install it on their athlon64's and start porting all the other applications. B. -- WebSig: http://www.jukie.net/~bart/sig/
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