Bug#1124838: release-notes: 5.1.2. Reduced support for i386: provides incorrect information
Martin-Éric Racine wrote:
> Release notes for i386 currently state:
>
> "The i386 architecture is now only intended to be used on a 64-bit (amd64) CPU.
> Its instruction set requirements include SSE2 support, so it will not run
> successfully on most of the 32-bit CPU types that were supported by Debian 12."
>
> "Users running i386 systems should not upgrade to trixie. Instead, Debian recommends
> either reinstalling them as amd64, where possible, or retiring the hardware.
> Cross-grading without a reinstall is a technically possible, but risky, alternative."
>
> The second paragraph is especially problematic since 32-bit hardware
> cannot run 64-bit binaries.
It doesn't say they can; it's talking about systems currently running
Debian's i386 arch, which may include 64bit-capable machines. The PC
I'm writing this on, for instance, was running a 32bit OS when I first
got it many years ago, but now runs 64bit trixie. Hence the advice
that users should switch "where possible".
Still, if this is unclear, maybe we ought to rephrase it. Would it
help if the second paragraph said something like "Users running the
i386 version of bookworm should not upgrade to trixie"?
--
JBR with qualifications in linguistics, experience as a Debian
sysadmin, and probably no clue about this particular package
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