Gentoo Archives: gentoo-user

From: Stroller <stroller@××××××××××××××××××.uk>
To: gentoo-user@l.g.o
Subject: Re: [gentoo-user] Re: Advice for 64-bit n00b?
Date: Thu, 04 Mar 2010 08:57:27
Message-Id: 3BB5376C-2909-484D-8780-F9E492754C19@stellar.eclipse.co.uk
In Reply to: [gentoo-user] Re: Advice for 64-bit n00b? by Nikos Chantziaras
1 On 4 Mar 2010, at 07:19, Nikos Chantziaras wrote:
2
3 > On 03/04/2010 08:44 AM, Graham Murray wrote:
4 >> Volker Armin Hemmann<volkerarmin@××××××××××.com> writes:
5 >>
6 >>> no, it is not safe to have a 64bit only system. Just choose the
7 >>> multilib
8 >>> profile and start installing. If something needs the 32bit emul
9 >>> libs, it will
10 >>> pull the stuff in. There is nothing you need to care about.
11 >>
12 >> What is unsafe about a 64bit only system? Surely if it were unsafe
13 >> then
14 >> Gentoo would not offer no-multilib profiles? I have recently built 2
15 >> systems using a no-multilib profile and have not found any
16 >> problems, and
17 >> expect to start building a third one today.
18 >
19 > You didn't understand the question Volker was replying to. The
20 > question was not about "safe" as in "security", but rather "safe" as
21 > in "I can rest assured that a no-multilib system can run every
22 > software I could install", which is clearly not the case since some
23 > applications need 32-bit support.
24
25 I could imagine that web-browsers might need 32-bit support in order
26 to play Flash, but can you suggest other applications which might?
27
28 This is a headless server, and I was kinda reassured by Alan's
29 response (Wed, 3 Mar 2010 22:04:17 +0200) [1] that seemed to assure me
30 that a statically linked 32-bit binary would work fine if I selected
31 the "no-multilib" profile.
32
33 I'd be really quite happy if I knew that this decision was revocable -
34 if I could choose "no-multilib" now and change my mind using eselect
35 later. Presumably I can choose to keep these 32-bit libs for the
36 moment & blow them away if I find I don't need them - this lib32 is,
37 after all, in the stage3-amd64-*tar.bz2, so what is the point in
38 offering me "no-multilib" if I can't do that?
39
40 Stroller.
41
42
43
44 [1] http://archives.gentoo.org/gentoo-user/msg_64a30b77742cf5846705952e6129367d.xml
45 http://tinyurl.com/ykvx5co

Replies

Subject Author
Re: [gentoo-user] Re: Advice for 64-bit n00b? Volker Armin Hemmann <volkerarmin@××××××××××.com>
Re: [gentoo-user] Re: Advice for 64-bit n00b? Walter Dnes <waltdnes@××××××××.org>