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

[Tollef Fog Heen]

* Matt Zimmerman 

| 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?

As you later noted -- not the development versions.  Just repacking a
32 bit firefox probably isn't that much work, apart from the constant
extra hassle of keeping it up-to-date.

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