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

[Matt Zimmerman]

On Mon, Sep 11, 2006 at 09:12:21AM -0700, Matt Zimmerman wrote:
> On Mon, Sep 11, 2006 at 10:10:27AM +0200, Tollef Fog Heen wrote:
> > * 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.
> 
> Aren't most of those libraries available as 32-bit for openoffice?

I suppose the -dev packages aren't.  The howto that I think "Kilz" is
referring to is:

http://www.ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?p=1174435

and while some of its advice is questionable, it seems to imply that all of
the runtime support is already available in 32-bit form, though I haven't
confirmed this.  If so, it should be possible to do an ia32-libs-style
firefox package.

-- 
 - mdz