What's the deal with 32 bit and chroot?

z.s.tar.gz · 2009-09-05 11:30:26

I've read all over the place about chroot and 32 bit libraries or something, and I'm wondering if that's something that would be helpful for 64 bit systems for 32 bit compatibility.

I guess I just want to know what that is.

Last edited by z.s.tar.gz (2009-09-05 11:30:55)

loafer · 2009-09-05 11:34:40

There's an FAQ and guide in the wiki for this:

http://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Arch64_FAQ

djszapi · 2009-09-05 11:36:30

Hello z.s.tar.gz!

http://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Arc … _Arch64.3F
http://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Arc … bit_system

Hope this helps something.

z.s.tar.gz · 2009-09-05 21:27:56

I've read the arcticles before, (thanks anyways) but I guess what I'm realling asking is what those combined commands really do.

klixon · 2009-09-05 21:31:41

they allow you to run 32bit binaries on a 64 bit system

z.s.tar.gz · 2009-09-05 23:34:30

I realize that. What I mean is, I understand that installing all 32 bit libraries works because you are basically installing arch for both architectures.

What I'm asking is, what does chroot even mean? Is it like a link? I really have no clue.

ngoonee · 2009-09-05 23:47:46

Basically, 64-bit can run 32-bit executables (the reverse doesn't work, however). The problem is, all non-trivial executables have to reference libraries, and libraries differ between 64-bit and 32-bit. Some distros, like Ubuntu, use a multilib system, where there's two sets of libraries. Some apps behave better with this sort of setup than others.

A chroot is basically a 'virtual root'. You'd probably know that in linux everything is done relative to a root filesystem. So, for example, an app who wants libraries will default to searching in /lib or /usr/lib. In a chroot, you'd define a folder in your filesystem (/opt/arch32 for example) to be the root of the install. Meaning that all the executables run inside that chroot (via schroot or whatever) will see /opt/arch32/lib as /lib. That way, all apps will run as if they were natively running on 32-bit, no need for a multilib system.

some-guy94 · 2009-09-06 00:10:20

I personally don't see a point in the chroot 32bit compatibility system.
Installing the lib32-whatever packages works fine.

z.s.tar.gz · 2009-09-06 01:55:41

Thank you ngoonee, I get it now.

Also, it's easier with large amounts of packages to just chroot it, apparently.

Last edited by z.s.tar.gz (2009-09-06 01:56:21)

ngoonee · 2009-09-06 06:29:12

some-guy94 wrote:

I personally don't see a point in the chroot 32bit compatibility system.
Installing the lib32-whatever packages works fine.

Inversely, I personally don't see a point in using lib32 when the chroot works fine.

Gives me less dependency on AUR building, doesn't mess up with my primary install, and when, eventually, all the apps I need are 64-bit, I can just delete the directory instead of having to remove a whole bunch of packages. The time saved by 'simply installing' lib32 packages instead of setting up my chroot is offset by the time needed to compile lib32 packages which aren't in community, which I can install in the chroot simply using pacman -S.

Different strokes for different folks, and all that.

sand_man · 2009-09-06 08:52:43

pacman -Rs lib32

You're right, that is hard.

ngoonee · 2009-09-06 13:22:42

sand_man wrote:

pacman -Rs lib32
You're right, that is hard.

'Hard' in this case means "I may forget something". Would lib32 really match all the 32-bit libs + apps?

R00KIE · 2009-09-06 19:09:56

Not only the chroot is a "cleaner" way it also assures that any program you run inside it will only see the 32bit libs in the place it expects them to be, also no one said you needed to user arch inside the chroot you can use files from other distro and tackle compatibility problems with some apps (notably proprietary ones).

Thats how I use it now, centos 4 server install (64bit) in the chroot, all (proprietary) apps work happily and I can use arch for all the other stuff.

Arch Linux

#1 2009-09-05 11:30:26

What's the deal with 32 bit and chroot?

#2 2009-09-05 11:34:40

Re: What's the deal with 32 bit and chroot?

#3 2009-09-05 11:36:30

Re: What's the deal with 32 bit and chroot?

#4 2009-09-05 21:27:56

Re: What's the deal with 32 bit and chroot?

#5 2009-09-05 21:31:41

Re: What's the deal with 32 bit and chroot?

#6 2009-09-05 23:34:30

Re: What's the deal with 32 bit and chroot?

#7 2009-09-05 23:47:46

Re: What's the deal with 32 bit and chroot?

#8 2009-09-06 00:10:20

Re: What's the deal with 32 bit and chroot?

#9 2009-09-06 01:55:41

Re: What's the deal with 32 bit and chroot?

#10 2009-09-06 06:29:12

Re: What's the deal with 32 bit and chroot?

#11 2009-09-06 08:52:43

Re: What's the deal with 32 bit and chroot?

#12 2009-09-06 13:22:42

Re: What's the deal with 32 bit and chroot?

#13 2009-09-06 19:09:56

Re: What's the deal with 32 bit and chroot?

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