Bug#530687: [PATCH] bug530687-srivasta: Support for architecture wildcards

[Bill Allombert <Bill.Allombert@math.u-bordeaux1.fr>]

On Fri, Sep 18, 2009 at 10:35:03AM +0200, Giacomo A. Catenazzi wrote:
> Manoj Srivastava wrote:
>> +
>> +        <p>
>> +          A package may specify an architecture wildcard. Architecture
>> +          wildcards are in the format <tt><var>os</var></tt>-any and
>> +          any-<tt><var>cpu</var></tt>. <footnote>Internally, the package
>> +          system normalizes the GNU triplets and the Debian
>> +          arches into Debian arch triplets (which are kind of inverted GNU
>> +          triplets). So when matching two Debian arch triplets, whenever an
>> +          <var>any</var> is found it matches with anything on the other side,
>> +          like in:
>> +          <example>
>> +  gnu-linux-i386	== gnu-linux-any
>> +  gnu-kfreebsd-amd64	== any-any-amd64
>> +          </example>
>> +          And for example <var>any</var> is normalized to <var>any-any-any</var>.
>> +        </footnote>
>> +        </p>
>
> Do we really need to use the triplets? Do you see some possible cases where we
> must really specify the first part?

My experience is that the kernel is largely irrelevant for building most
packages.  What you need to know is first the userspace system and second the
architecture. So a wildcard of gnu-any-any seems useful.

Cheers,
-- 
Bill. <ballombe@debian.org>

Imagine a large red swirl here.