Hi All,

Just out of curiosity, do 32 bit apps run in
64 bit Linux?

Or, must they be ported to 64 bit
before they will run? What about 32 bit RPMs?

Todd writes:

Hi All,

Just out of curiosity, do 32 bit apps run in
64 bit Linux?

64 bit Linux kernels have full support for 32 bit applications. Of
course, in order for a 32 bit application to run, the 32 bit versions of
all shared libraries the application requires must also be installed. A
32 bit application cannot load 64 bit libraries, it must also load 32
bit libraries.

Or, must they be ported to 64 bit
before they will run? What about 32 bit RPMs?

64 bit Linux distributions also provide 32 bit RPMs for all key system
libraries. You'll be able to install 32 bit RPMs for your applications
provided that their 32 bit dependencies are also satisfied as well, by
32 bit RPMs of their own.

Sam wrote:
Todd writes:

Hi All,

Just out of curiosity, do 32 bit apps run in
64 bit Linux?

64 bit Linux kernels have full support for 32 bit applications.

Fairly full.

I've seen a few that dont work..

Of
course, in order for a 32 bit application to run, the 32 bit versions
of all shared libraries the application requires must also be
installed. A 32 bit application cannot load 64 bit libraries, it must
also load 32 bit libraries.

Or, must they be ported to 64 bit
before they will run? What about 32 bit RPMs?

64 bit Linux distributions also provide 32 bit RPMs for all key system
libraries.

But not ALL libraries. Therein lies the problem.

You'll be able to install 32 bit RPMs for your applications
provided that their 32 bit dependencies are also satisfied as well, by
32 bit RPMs of their own.


The only way is to simply try it.

And be prepared to drop back to a 32 bit install if some key
applications imply wont work.

Sam wrote:
Todd writes:

Hi All,

Just out of curiosity, do 32 bit apps run in 64 bit Linux?

64 bit Linux kernels have full support for 32 bit applications.

Fairly full.

I've seen a few that dont work..


Of
course, in order for a 32 bit application to run, the 32 bit versions
of all shared libraries the application requires must also be
installed. A 32 bit application cannot load 64 bit libraries, it must
also load 32 bit libraries.

Or, must they be ported to 64 bit
before they will run? What about 32 bit RPMs?

64 bit Linux distributions also provide 32 bit RPMs for all key system
libraries.

But not ALL libraries. Therein lies the problem.

You'll be able to install 32 bit RPMs for your applications provided
that their 32 bit dependencies are also satisfied as well, by 32 bit
RPMs of their own.


The only way is to simply try it.

And be prepared to drop back to a 32 bit install if some key
applications imply wont work.

On Mon, 26 Oct 2009 11:49:21 +0000, The Natural Philosopher wrote:

Sam wrote:
Todd writes:

Hi All,

Just out of curiosity, do 32 bit apps run in 64 bit Linux?

64 bit Linux kernels have full support for 32 bit applications.

Fairly full.

I've seen a few that dont work..


Of
course, in order for a 32 bit application to run, the 32 bit versions
of all shared libraries the application requires must also be
installed. A 32 bit application cannot load 64 bit libraries, it must
also load 32 bit libraries.

Or, must they be ported to 64 bit
before they will run? What about 32 bit RPMs?

64 bit Linux distributions also provide 32 bit RPMs for all key system
libraries.

But not ALL libraries. Therein lies the problem.

You'll be able to install 32 bit RPMs for your applications provided
that their 32 bit dependencies are also satisfied as well, by 32 bit
RPMs of their own.


The only way is to simply try it.

And be prepared to drop back to a 32 bit install if some key
applications imply wont work.

I can't think of anything that doesn't work. The open source applications
that are provided with the distro are all compiled for 64 bits. The only
closed source driver you are likely to use is Nvidia's and they have
always provided 64 bit versions. Adobe Flash has been available for 64
bits for a long time, it's still a beta but it works just fine. Java
plugins don't seem to work on 64 bit Fedora, but Java works. The only
library problems that I've ever encountered had nothing to do with 64 bit
vs 32 bit, they had to do with version of the library or the fact that
Fedora replaced Motif with Lesstif which isn't entirely compatible. The
solution to the library issue is to use a CentOS5 Virtual Machine.
Commercial applications are all targeted to RHEL, CentOS is a clone of
RHEL, which solves the library issue. The performance of a KVM CentOS VM
on Fedora is practically native. You can run 32 bit and 64 bit VMs side
by side and you can also use VMs to run Windows on top of Linux. If you
are running a distro that has a 2.27 or older kernel you can use VMware
Server which is the most stable VM system. KVM is the native VM for
Fedora, it has better Linux performance than VMware but worse Windows
performance. Another choice is VirtualBox from Sun. They provide support
for all of the major distros and they keep it up to date for recent
kernels (KVM is part of the kernel so by definition it supports every
recent kernel).

At 26 Oct 2009 13:01:36 GMT General Schvantzkoph
schvantzkoph at (no spam) yahoo.com> wrote:


On Mon, 26 Oct 2009 11:49:21 +0000, The Natural Philosopher wrote:

Sam wrote:
Todd writes:

Hi All,

Just out of curiosity, do 32 bit apps run in 64 bit Linux?

64 bit Linux kernels have full support for 32 bit applications.

Fairly full.

I've seen a few that dont work..


Of
course, in order for a 32 bit application to run, the 32 bit
versions of all shared libraries the application requires must also
be installed. A 32 bit application cannot load 64 bit libraries, it
must also load 32 bit libraries.

Or, must they be ported to 64 bit
before they will run? What about 32 bit RPMs?

64 bit Linux distributions also provide 32 bit RPMs for all key
system libraries.

But not ALL libraries. Therein lies the problem.

You'll be able to install 32 bit RPMs for your applications provided
that their 32 bit dependencies are also satisfied as well, by 32 bit
RPMs of their own.


The only way is to simply try it.

And be prepared to drop back to a 32 bit install if some key
applications imply wont work.

I can't think of anything that doesn't work. The open source
applications that are provided with the distro are all compiled for 64
bits. The only closed source driver you are likely to use is Nvidia's
and they have always provided 64 bit versions. Adobe Flash has been
available for 64 bits for a long time, it's still a beta but it works
just fine. Java plugins don't seem to work on 64 bit Fedora, but Java
works. The only library problems that I've ever encountered had nothing
to do with 64 bit vs 32 bit, they had to do with version of the library
or the fact that Fedora replaced Motif with Lesstif which isn't
entirely compatible. The solution to the library issue is to use a
CentOS5 Virtual Machine. Commercial applications are all targeted to
RHEL, CentOS is a clone of RHEL, which solves the library issue. The
performance of a KVM CentOS VM on Fedora is practically native. You can
run 32 bit and 64 bit VMs side by side and you can also use VMs to run
Windows on top of Linux. If you are running a distro that has a 2.27 or
older kernel you can use VMware Server which is the most stable VM
system. KVM is the native VM for Fedora, it has better Linux
performance than VMware but worse Windows performance. Another choice
is VirtualBox from Sun. They provide support for all of the major
distros and they keep it up to date for recent kernels (KVM is part of
the kernel so by definition it supports every recent kernel).

The other weirdness with a 64-bit install: setting things up to build
32-bit binaries. You need to install the 32-bit devel packages and I am
not sure if that would conflict with the 64-bit devel packages. (Yes,
there are reasons to build apps for 32-bit -- generally if you have
32-bit target environments, such as using older 32-bit systems as
dedicated systems. Sometime said machines don't have the wherewithall
for a build environment for various reasons.)

The Natural Philosopher wrote:

Sam wrote:
Todd writes:

Hi All,

Just out of curiosity, do 32 bit apps run in
64 bit Linux?
64 bit Linux kernels have full support for 32 bit applications.
Fairly full.

I've seen a few that dont work..


Care to name some?

Of
course, in order for a 32 bit application to run, the 32 bit versions
of all shared libraries the application requires must also be
installed. A 32 bit application cannot load 64 bit libraries, it must
also load 32 bit libraries.

Or, must they be ported to 64 bit
before they will run? What about 32 bit RPMs?
64 bit Linux distributions also provide 32 bit RPMs for all key system
libraries.
But not ALL libraries. Therein lies the problem.

Care to name the mising ones?

You'll be able to install 32 bit RPMs for your applications
provided that their 32 bit dependencies are also satisfied as well, by
32 bit RPMs of their own.

The only way is to simply try it.

And be prepared to drop back to a 32 bit install if some key
applications imply wont work.

Why not simply recompile to 64 bits?

On Mon, 26 Oct 2009 11:49:21 +0000, The Natural Philosopher wrote:

Sam wrote:
Todd writes:

Hi All,

Just out of curiosity, do 32 bit apps run in 64 bit Linux?
64 bit Linux kernels have full support for 32 bit applications.
Fairly full.

I've seen a few that dont work..


Of
course, in order for a 32 bit application to run, the 32 bit versions
of all shared libraries the application requires must also be
installed. A 32 bit application cannot load 64 bit libraries, it must
also load 32 bit libraries.

Or, must they be ported to 64 bit
before they will run? What about 32 bit RPMs?
64 bit Linux distributions also provide 32 bit RPMs for all key system
libraries.
But not ALL libraries. Therein lies the problem.

You'll be able to install 32 bit RPMs for your applications provided
that their 32 bit dependencies are also satisfied as well, by 32 bit
RPMs of their own.


The only way is to simply try it.

And be prepared to drop back to a 32 bit install if some key
applications imply wont work.

I can't think of anything that doesn't work. The open source applications
that are provided with the distro are all compiled for 64 bits.

closed source driver you are likely to use is Nvidia's and they have
always provided 64 bit versions.

for all of the major distros and they keep it up to date for recent
kernels (KVM is part of the kernel so by definition it supports every
recent kernel).

Peter Köhlmann wrote:
The Natural Philosopher wrote:

Sam wrote:
Todd writes:

Hi All,

Just out of curiosity, do 32 bit apps run in
64 bit Linux?
64 bit Linux kernels have full support for 32 bit applications.
Fairly full.

I've seen a few that dont work..


Care to name some?

Of
course, in order for a 32 bit application to run, the 32 bit versions
of all shared libraries the application requires must also be
installed. A 32 bit application cannot load 64 bit libraries, it must
also load 32 bit libraries.

Or, must they be ported to 64 bit
before they will run? What about 32 bit RPMs?
64 bit Linux distributions also provide 32 bit RPMs for all key
system libraries.
But not ALL libraries. Therein lies the problem.

Care to name the mising ones?

You'll be able to install 32 bit RPMs for your applications
provided that their 32 bit dependencies are also satisfied as well,
by 32 bit RPMs of their own.

The only way is to simply try it.

And be prepared to drop back to a 32 bit install if some key
applications imply wont work.

Why not simply recompile to 64 bits?

Well Peter, my story was that I started 32 bit, went to 64, and some
stuff didn't work. And some was only available as 32 bit precompiled.

I think I managed to get the flash plugin working OK for Firefox.

Firefox 3.5.X was not available 64 bit so I recompiled that from source.
Occasionally crashes - not sure why. IIRC the 32 bit didn't work at all.
Missing some libraries that are probably mozilla specific.

I would haver stuck with iceweasel, BUT I needed to check some features
of browser compatibility with 3.5

My complete failure was with the Xsane software driver for an HP
scanner. The only driver was precompiled 32 bit, from HP, so I gave
that to my wife for her Mac, and hit ebay for a scanner that did work
with standard Xsane drivers. I didn't know how to have a 32 bit Xsane
running in a 64 bit env. At £20 for he new scanner, it was better value
than spending days trying to figure out and write drivers. Or working
out how to install 32 bit Xsane.

Getting VMware to work was not too bad, BUT to get decent video on the
Intel chipset I am running the 2.6.30 kernel, and that didn't work with
vmware till I spent a day buggering around with some patches ..

Essentially, if you stick to what the distro provides, fine, once you
step off into 3rd party software, then all hell may break loose.

Now I am not complaining: I've got a fairly stable and very fast setup
now.

BUT it hasn't been trouble free.

As an aside, my update manager keeps telling me to upgrade my klernel to
2.26.something..which I dont use anymore. Its it safe to use synaptic to
remove the whole original distro kernel?

Getting VMware to work was not too bad, BUT to get decent video on the
Intel chipset I am running the 2.6.30 kernel, and that didn't work with
vmware till I spent a day buggering around with some patches ..

Bullshit. There is no problem getting Vmware to work, and especially no
video problem. I have run Vmware since several years on 64bit machines

Getting VMware to work was not too bad, BUT to get decent video on the
Intel chipset I am running the 2.6.30 kernel, and that didn't work
with vmware till I spent a day buggering around with some patches ..

Bullshit. There is no problem getting Vmware to work, and especially no
video problem. I have run Vmware since several years on 64bit machines


VMware Server isn't supported for kernels later than 2.6.27, there is a
patch but when I tried it it didn't work very well.

General Schvantzkoph wrote:



Getting VMware to work was not too bad, BUT to get decent video on
the Intel chipset I am running the 2.6.30 kernel, and that didn't
work with vmware till I spent a day buggering around with some
patches ..

Bullshit. There is no problem getting Vmware to work, and especially
no video problem. I have run Vmware since several years on 64bit
machines


VMware Server isn't supported for kernels later than 2.6.27, there is a
patch but when I tried it it didn't work very well.

Which has diddly squat to do with 64bit/32bits

snip irrelevant crap

On Mon, 26 Oct 2009 16:59:54 +0100, Peter Köhlmann wrote:

General Schvantzkoph wrote:



Getting VMware to work was not too bad, BUT to get decent video on
the Intel chipset I am running the 2.6.30 kernel, and that didn't
work with vmware till I spent a day buggering around with some
patches ..

Bullshit. There is no problem getting Vmware to work, and especially
no video problem. I have run Vmware since several years on 64bit
machines


VMware Server isn't supported for kernels later than 2.6.27, there is
a patch but when I tried it it didn't work very well.

Which has diddly squat to do with 64bit/32bits

snip irrelevant crap

NP said that he had to run the 2.6.30 kernel which means that he either
had to hack VMware or use a different solution. You made the irrelevant
comment that VMware runs fine on 64 bits (which is true), but NP's issue
was that he need to run 2.6.30 because of his graphics chip.

I was responding to the 2.6.30/Vmware issue in this case.

I moved to KVM on my
F11 boxes which is the simplest solution for Fedora users. Ubuntu users
seem to favor VirtualBox, which is fully supported on all recent
kernels, but is still a bolt on solution.

Hi All,

Just out of curiosity, do 32 bit apps run in
64 bit Linux? Or, must they be ported to 64 bit
before they will run? What about 32 bit RPMs?