[Bug 792004] Re: Architecture Policy inadaquate

[Matthew Paul Thomas]

Can you provide steps to reproduce this problem? Is there a particular
package where we can see it happening?

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Title:
  Architecture Policy inadaquate

Status in “software-center” package in Ubuntu:
  New

Bug description:
  Binary package hint: software-center

  Ubuntu Application Package Architecture Problem

  In systems prior to Natty [11.04], building packages for both simple
  utility applications was quite easy. If the package architecture was
  set to all, then the package would install on both i386 and amd64
  systems.

  With 11.04, the rules have changed apparently. The Ubuntu Software
  Center now reports a bad package quality with lintian if an all
  architecture package contains a program executable.

  So, to avoid this error for a small utility programs one will need to
  build two packages: one with i386 and one with amd64.

  Do we really think that we need to burden the entire ubuntu
  application eco-system with two packages for every minor utility?

  At least, the system does not require /usr/bin and /usr/bin32, as
  windows x64 has done with Program Files and Program Files(x86) which
  is totally silly since the architectue knows when it runs the
  application exe that it is an x64 image or an x86 image.

  I have seen no documentation of the reason behind this choice, despite
  many hours of searching for package policies and studying many
  documents in both the Debian and Ubuntu documentation sites.

  It seems that the policy needs either some work and changes or some
  documentation.

  I have found no documentation about how to build packages for Ubuntu
  Software Center, which now employs lintian. ANd I have found no
  documentation about the policies of lintian or where they have been
  reviewed and decided. It seems they have not received wide review,

  Based on this I am posting a bug against the Ubuntu Software Center
  for the inability to build a package that will install a perfectly
  good working i386 exe program on both an i386 and an amd64 system.

  I am not posting this as a lack of documentation, since I think this
  is a larger problem than a documentation note that says build two
  packages. That is not a reasonable solution for the many utilities
  that many of need to deploy in ubuntu systems. I'm quite sure there
  are many packages, some for utilities, that will need to be different
  for both i386 and amd64 systems. And I am also aware that all is not a
  good choice since that would imply that the package should be valid
  for an ARM or PPC based system. But along the way, we have failed to
  put in the architecture case of allx86, which is the case that we
  really need.

  Where is the policy, and how do we get it changed?

  Thanks,
  WindyWeather

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