32-bit Firefox (Re: How long will 64bit Ubuntu users have towait?)

[Tollef Fog Heen]

* Matt Zimmerman 

| The latter would be preferable, as it avoids duplicating the source and
| automatically stays up to date as the package changes.  The bi-arch support
| in our compiler should make it possible to build both 64-bit and 32-bit
| binaries during the same build, if the necessary development packages are
| arranged.

This is the big problem -- firefox build-depends on a bunch of
libraries like libxt-dev and libx11-dev which would require those to
exist in a 32-bit build for amd64.  Similarly, we would need a build
of gtk, orbit, freetype, cairo.  At some point, you're really running
half your desktop in 32 bit mode.  To be honest -- I don't see the
point, it's not worth the maintenance for the distro team and I would
rather see the effort being used for proper multiarch.

-- 
Tollef Fog Heen                                                        ,''`.
UNIX is user friendly, it's just picky about who its friends are      : :' :
                                                                      `. `' 
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