APwrs
01-05-2006, 10:20 PM
For all the good that Ubuntu is, they really dropped the ball with their 64-bit version, especially when it comes to 32-bit application support. Other distros have worked out 32-bit application compatibility much better, so that things “just work”. Ubuntu is not one of them.
Some distros solve this problem by placing their 32-bit libraries in “/usr/lib” and their 64-bit libraries in “/usr/lib64”. This way, regular 32-bit programs will look for their libs in the regular place, and they'll just work. Most 64-bit programs (all that I've encountered) are set to look in “/usr/lib64”, so those just work too.
However, Ubuntu has this backwards. Ubuntu uses “/usr/lib32” for 32-bit and “/usr/lib” for 64-bit. If you download a 32-bit application off the Internet and try to use it, like Firefox for instance, it won't work because it will be looking for its libraries in “/usr/lib”. The same goes for OpenOffice.org.
Other distros keep their 32-bit libraries in the location that the downloaded programs expect to find them, so they work. They keep their 64-bit libraries in the location that 64-bit programs expect to find them, so those work too. In Ubuntu, you have to set up a chroot environment, or jump through some other hoops, in order to get 32-bit programs to work. And even at that, some of those programs may not work very well.
The way Ubuntu handles 32-bit compatibility is just nonsense. Other distros do it much better.
I'm fine with recommending 32-bit Ubuntu, but until Ubuntu learns from others, I simply cannot recommend Ubuntu 64.
Some distros solve this problem by placing their 32-bit libraries in “/usr/lib” and their 64-bit libraries in “/usr/lib64”. This way, regular 32-bit programs will look for their libs in the regular place, and they'll just work. Most 64-bit programs (all that I've encountered) are set to look in “/usr/lib64”, so those just work too.
However, Ubuntu has this backwards. Ubuntu uses “/usr/lib32” for 32-bit and “/usr/lib” for 64-bit. If you download a 32-bit application off the Internet and try to use it, like Firefox for instance, it won't work because it will be looking for its libraries in “/usr/lib”. The same goes for OpenOffice.org.
Other distros keep their 32-bit libraries in the location that the downloaded programs expect to find them, so they work. They keep their 64-bit libraries in the location that 64-bit programs expect to find them, so those work too. In Ubuntu, you have to set up a chroot environment, or jump through some other hoops, in order to get 32-bit programs to work. And even at that, some of those programs may not work very well.
The way Ubuntu handles 32-bit compatibility is just nonsense. Other distros do it much better.
I'm fine with recommending 32-bit Ubuntu, but until Ubuntu learns from others, I simply cannot recommend Ubuntu 64.