Re: Upcoming Debian multiarch support (amd64, sparc64, s390x, mips64) [affects sarge slightly]

[Goswin von Brederlow <brederlo@informatik.uni-tuebingen.de>]

Stephen Frost <sfrost@snowman.net> writes:

> * Goswin von Brederlow (brederlo@informatik.uni-tuebingen.de) wrote:
> > Stephen Frost <sfrost@snowman.net> writes:
> > > > Everything else will most likely be ported to 64 bit at some stage. If
> > > > someone is willing to port something I see no reason to not include
> > > > the result in debian-amd64. Through that eventually everything of
> > > > intrest will be ported.
> > > 
> > > What porting?  We already compile for 64bit architectures, it should be
> > > reasonably straight-forward to do the same for amd64.  It shouldn't be
> > 
> > It is not. At least not for libs. You need to change every /lib/ to
> > /lib64/ for example, without breaking /lib/ on other archs.
> 
> Clearly that's only true if we end up using /lib64.  If we use /lib then
> it looks the same as the other 64bit archs.

Get it into your head. we are using /lib64. As seen in another mail on
this thread even the FHS says (will say) /lib64 is to be used.

Debian is not Microsoft and just makes its own standards for no reason
at all.

> > > an issue of if someone is 'willing' to port something, we should have a
> > > buildd that builds amd64 binaries, just like we have a buildd for every
> > > other architecture.  If we don't then, again, might as well forget
> > > properly supporting the architecture at all.
> > 
> > Already have one for the debian-amd64 repository thats available on alioth.
> 
> I'm talking about an official one that's linked into wanna-build and
> actually puts things into unstable.  Unfortunately we don't have one of
> those yet, though hopefully we will once the the multiarch/native/etc
> issues get hammered out.

Thats because ftpmaster didn't agree to make one and at the current
release state mixing in multiarch changes into sid would be disruptive
to the sarge release.

As I said, I have an autobuilder setup for compiles.

But its a good thing that the autobuilder is not connected to
wanna-build for sid. All lot of the unported libraries would actually
compile on amd64 but be completly broken. Basically everything that
depends on build-essential and binaries will compile. If its a lib its
completly broken afterwards and results in a FTBFS for anything
depending on it. Any such lib would also replace the working i386
version and break any i386 depending on the lib.

Luckily I stoped the wanna-build and buildd for alioth fast enough
before it went through all of sid and made a complete mess of the
alioth archive.

> > Repeating myself again in the hope you might read it this time:
> > 
> > The main reason for /lib and /lib64 on amd64 by now is because
> > everyone else is doing it.
> 
> Everyone else hacked up something quick for amd64.  Everyone else
> doesn't support other archs.  Everyone else can go sit on a fence.
> 
> > Have fun with your packages when upstream starts patching in /lib64/
> > and you have to patch it out again for debian. Yeah, that would be
> > fun.
> 
> Going to have to do it one way or the other unless you think they're
> going to get it right for both amd64 and alpha.  Either that or we need
> to start making our 64bit archs use /lib64 and have an empty /lib,
> that'd be great, really.
> 
> 	Stephen

You seem to live in a very small world consisting just of you and your
debian box.

Breaking compatibility with the rest of the world is the worst you can
do. Luckily you seem to be the only one willing to. It's not going to
happen.

MfG
        Goswin