Fwd: Proposal: Let's drop i386

[Valorie Zimmerman]

On Mon, Aug 13, 2018 at 2:15 PM Stephen Morris <samorris at netspace.net.au> wrote:
>
> On 8/8/18 6:43 pm, Valorie Zimmerman wrote:
> > On Tue, Aug 7, 2018 at 3:05 PM, Stephen Morris <samorris at netspace.net.au> wrote:
> >> On 11/7/18 1:55 pm, Nils Kassube wrote:
> >>> Stephen Morris wrote:
> >>>> On 17/5/18 9:17 am, Valorie Zimmerman wrote:
> >>>>> explain the thinking on the part of the Ubuntu developers as to why
> >>>>> they are discontinuing the i386 images. For us, this would mean that
> >>>>> the 18.04 LTS is the last i386 ISO that we will be publishing.
> >>>>> For now the i386 *packages* in the archive are not going away.
> >>>> Is this article saying that from 18.10 onwards people are not going to
> >>>> be able to run 32 bit applications on their 64 bit images?
> >>> No, if you read the important parts again (see above) you should notice
> >>> that the i386 packages will still be available. The only thing removed
> >>> are the i386 images. The term "images" refers to the install images,
> >>> i.e. you won't get the ISO images to create install media for i386
> >>> machines.
> >>
> >> Yes 18.04 is the last i386 iso, but Valorie also says the she believes the
> >> i386 packages only have a limited lifetime and her closing remark says that
> >> 18.10 will be without i386. She does say that for the 18.04.1 etc point
> >> releases that the i386 packages will be there but her closing remark makes
> >> it sound like they are gone with 18.10. If I have misinterpreted her closing
> >> statement I apologise, but if I have misinterpreted it then it needs more
> >> clarification around exactly what is meant so that it is not open to
> >> misinterpretation.
> >>
> >> regards,
> >>
> >> Steve
> >>
> >>> Nils
> > The i386 *packages* will probably disappear one by one over time. I
> > doubt that is tied in any way to Ubuntu releases, but rather to
> > upstream support. When a package is supported and people want it, in
> > general it is available, as developers have time to update packaging.
> > When upstream begins to stop making even bugfix releases, packages
> > begin bit-rotting, and eventually will be deprecated.
> >
> > So, if you depend on some i386 package, please support those upstream
> > developers! File good bug reports, respond when asked to test out
> > fixes, and encourage them to make new releases. When there *is* a new
> > release, file a bug `ubuntu-bug packagename` in the commandline, and
> > fill out a "needs packaging" bug report on launchpad. Again, remain
> > responsive (and even gently remind your favorite packagers) to
> > inquiries on the bug report and remember to thank and otherwise
> > support your hard-working volunteer packagers, testers, documentation
> > writers and others who provide you -- for free -- the tools which make
> > your life better. :-)
>
> The problem with this is that products like steam, which download
> components from upstream when run (particularly when run the first time,
> where it downloads a lot of packages, including packages named for
> Ubuntu even on other linux distributions), but still require 32 bit
> versions of standard linux packages even though 64 bit versions of those
> packages already exist and have existed for some time. I have been in
> the situation on another distribution where steam refused to run because
> I only had 64 bit versions of packages it needed installed, and I had to
> manually install the 32 bit versions of the same packages so that steam
> would run.
>
>
> regards,
>
> Steve

Sure. However, this has zero to do with the i386 ISOs going away, and
Steam calling for out-dated packages is not under Kubuntu or even
Ubuntu control. I suggest discussing this with the Steam packagers to
see what can be done.

Valorie


-- 
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