Re: About i386 support
On 5/19/24 17:30, rhys@neoquasar.org wrote:
I have an N270 system I can use to contribute, if someone is willing to
explain what I need to do to make it useful.
Hi,
If you allow me ... I was expecting someone else to write it before me,
but seeing nobody does, let me try.
... The issue isn't only about how many contributors, or how much effort
they put into it, but how much *everyone* in the project wants to spend
time on i386 support.
For example, *I* don't care at all about 32 bits arch, and would prefer
if these were to be sent to ports.debian.org. I really mean *all* 32
bits arch, including armhf for example.
Indeed, it's annoying each time when:
- I have to pin Arch: in debian/tests/control for example, only because
some packages have dropped 32 bits support (hint: sometimes, because
some of them also maintained by myself as well, like OpenVSwitch, for
example).
- I have to care for failed build (often because of unit tests) in i386
of packages I know wont mater for these arch.
And this is only 2 examples. This is a considerable loss of my (limited)
contributor time.
If 32 bits support was removed from Debian, this would make my (Debian)
life easier, while I have zero use of 32 bits. If I had to setup Linux
on a pi-zero, I probably would choose a more embedded distro than Debian
anyways, and that's what I would recommend to anyone. Anyone running
Debian on a non-amd64 capable laptop, at this time, should stop
procrastinate, and get decent hardware (as mentioned earlier in this
thread, cheap 2nd hands amd64 laptops are *very* cheap).
Because I know others care, I continue to make the effort when possible.
But these others should remember that's annoying me, and should weight
the collective cost, because I might not be the only one... and everyone
slightly involved in maintaining Debian might have, at some point, loss
some time on 32 bits support.
So this is a collective decision we should make: is 32 bits still
relevant enough for spending (wasting?) our collective (limited) time on
it? I'd vote no ... Especially considering i386 can become an unofficial
port for those who care. Even if I will respect our community decision
until the majority agrees, and will continue to do my best with i386
support until then, it has to happen one day. The only question is how
long. Can Trixie be the last release with 32 bits support?
Cheers,
Thomas Goirand (zigo)
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