> > Being able to install multiple versions is some use to multiarch, but > > could also be used for other things, such if two packages provide the > > same binary (git for example). > > Or to install multiple 'version 'numbers' of the same package. > > The big problem then is when to install multiple versions of a binary? > How should the depends decide when that is needed or wanted and when > not? Esspecialy when different versions are available per > architecture. >
One way of doing this would be to make a binary a special directory which contains the actual binary files for the architectures the binaries exist. AIX 1.x did this and allowed transparent execution of binaries in a heterogenous cluster. So if you would start a binary on IA32 AIX machine which only existed in a mainframe AIX version, the system would automatically start the binary on one of the mainframe AIX nodes in the cluster. If an IA32 AIX binary was available, it would locally start this binary. The 'binary directory' had the name, the binary would normally have. The actual binary files get the architecture name they implement as the filename. Eg: there would be an /bin/ls directory containing 2 files : i386, ibm370. > How would programs or user specifiy what binary to call? How would You could explicitly start /bin/ls/i386 I think (which would fail if you did it on the wrong machine). > users even know which binary is which if they have the same name and > both packages are installed on the system? Just imagine the confusion > of a user installing foo (which provides the same binary "foo" as bar) > and calling foo gives him bars "foo". > > That is totaly out of the question. Packages that provide the same (by > name) binary (or even just file) MUST conflict. period. > I don't think so. I see at least a few possible uses for this : 1) have a shared filesystem between machines of multiple architectures 2) test your programs on architectures you don't have by using qemu L & L p2. -- goa is a state of mind
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