Re: ia32-libs{-tools}, multiarch, squeeze

[Tollef Fog Heen <tfheen@err.no>]

]] Stefano Zacchiroli 

| On Sun, Jul 05, 2009 at 01:26:23PM +0200, Tollef Fog Heen wrote:
| > ]] Yannick 
| > 
| > | For instance, I wanted to test Firefox 3.5 in 32bits on my amd64
| > | Debian (64bit Firefox 3.5 does not have the new tracemonkey javascript
| > | engine).  With ia32-apt-get, I could install the 32bit version of my
| > | GTK theme engine so that Firefox can look good.
| > 
| > You could just use a chroot.  It's not that hard.
| 
| Oh come on, this is really a non-argument. Here we are trying to build
| a system that can be used by random users, not developers (like
| probably all of the people reading this thread) with half dozen
| entries in their schroot.conf.

No, I don't think so.  Coming up with random maybe-somewhat-working
solutions to cross-installing packages will only take a proper solution
take more time to get implemented, since people will be less interested
in fixing the problem once their pet problem goes away.

| Not arguing about the merits of the specific implementation of
| ia32-apt-get, the approach had the advantage that a, say, synaptic
| user can use it. A chroot does not enjoy that good property.

unless it broke apt completely, requiring more hand-holding than
constructing a chroot, you mean?

-- 
Tollef Fog Heen
UNIX is user friendly, it's just picky about who its friends are