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#1 2012-05-17 21:11:18

Bastian
Member
Registered: 2012-05-17
Posts: 43

Archlinux Multilib Directory Structure?

Hello,

I was reading the Beginners' Guide for Arch Linux and I stumbled upon a sentence under Select an installation source which made me wonder. I have quoted it below:

"If you are installing 64-bit Arch, you may also want 'multilib'."

So I was wondering what exactly multilib was since the sentence implied it was optional. Following the multilib link didn't give me any explanation, but I found this article by redhat which explained the purpose of it. If I understood right, multilib makes it possible for me to use 32-bit applications on a 64-bit computer? If you can confirm, I will update the wiki to reflect my discoverings.

That redhat article also mentioned that the 32-bit libraries and the 64-bit libraries end up in folders and that this directory structure can vary. In the table below the redhat article showed the directory structures for the Debian Core and the Fedora Core.
c2Pd6.gif
(Source)

My question is: What directory structure does multilib use in Archlinux?

Thank you very much in advance!

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#2 2012-05-17 21:14:04

wonder
Developer
From: Bucharest, Romania
Registered: 2006-07-05
Posts: 5,941
Website

Re: Archlinux Multilib Directory Structure?

native is /lib /usr/lib and multilib is /usr/lib32/


Give what you have. To someone, it may be better than you dare to think.

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#3 2012-05-17 21:17:59

Bastian
Member
Registered: 2012-05-17
Posts: 43

Re: Archlinux Multilib Directory Structure?

That was fast! Thank you very much for your help, wonder.

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#4 2012-05-18 09:28:15

Awebb
Member
Registered: 2010-05-06
Posts: 6,271

Re: Archlinux Multilib Directory Structure?

You can find such things out on your own:

Click on "Packages" (on top of the site).
Filter for "multilib".
Click on a package named "lib32-*" (any will do).
Click on "Package Contents View the file list for lib32-*".

The package page is your friend! You can answer many many questions by simply looking up the package there. Also make sure you have a look at all the "Package Actions" on the right.

Last edited by Awebb (2012-05-18 09:28:53)

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#5 2012-05-18 11:16:12

Bastian
Member
Registered: 2012-05-17
Posts: 43

Re: Archlinux Multilib Directory Structure?

Hello Awebb,

Thank you for pointing this out, I wasn't aware that the type of information I was looking for could be found under "Packages". Is there a list over what type of information can be found where? The initial reason to that I asked was because my own searching on the forums, the wiki and the internet did not return anything.

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#6 2012-05-18 12:43:01

Awebb
Member
Registered: 2010-05-06
Posts: 6,271

Re: Archlinux Multilib Directory Structure?

There is no conclusive list about that, unfortunately. But rest assured that everything you need to know can be found behind one of those six navigation links on top. The richest source, however, remains the mailing lists (found under Home. You could, however, change that, by taking notes about your discoveries to come and create a Wiki article. It's so easy to contribute :-)

Last edited by Awebb (2012-05-18 14:32:38)

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#7 2012-05-18 14:02:35

Bastian
Member
Registered: 2012-05-17
Posts: 43

Re: Archlinux Multilib Directory Structure?

I have updated the Multilib page which the Beginner's Guide linked to. I hope my discoverings can help other beginners. I will follow your advice and continue to contribute so someone else can benefit from it. And thank you for the information related to information sources, I am sure it will become useful.

Last edited by Bastian (2012-05-18 14:03:26)

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#8 2012-05-19 15:23:53

tomegun
Developer
From: France
Registered: 2010-05-28
Posts: 661

Re: Archlinux Multilib Directory Structure?

In addition to wonder's comment: in the near future we will move the native stuff away from /lib, so we will end up with: native in /usr/lib and 32-bit in /usr/lib32.

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#9 2012-05-20 05:21:09

Awebb
Member
Registered: 2010-05-06
Posts: 6,271

Re: Archlinux Multilib Directory Structure?

Is this connected to that /bin → /usr/bin exodus everybody talked about a while ago?

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