On some architectures, a single toolchain supports several architectures. The most common example is x86_64-linux-gnu -m32 emitting code for i686-linux-gnu. Typically, this functionality is made available via the gcc-multilib package. For more information about multi-architecture systems, see CategoryMultiarch.

Removing gcc-multilib

As cross toolchain support improves, multilib support is supposed to be phased out. When one would use -m32 earlier, one should now use i686-linux-gnu-gcc as compiler.

Removal status

• aflplusplus

• elfutils: supposedly used for testing, but really unused

• fasm

• fis-gtm

• gcc-11: Use will be removed when it is no longer built.

• gcc-12: Use will be removed when it is no longer built.

• gcc-13: Use will be removed when it is no longer built.

• gcc-14: Use will be removed when it is no longer built.

• gcc-15: Use will be removed when it is no longer built.

• gcc-snapshot: Use will be removed when it is no longer built.

• gnu-efi: difficult. We'd need gcc-i686-gnu, but it's not built, cause it's not a port.

• grub2: difficult. We'd need gcc-i686-gnu`, but that's not built, cause it's not a port.

• ispc

• libnss-extrausers

• linux

• llvm-toolchain-14

• llvm-toolchain-17

• llvm-toolchain-18

• llvm-toolchain-19

• llvm-toolchain-20

• llvm-toolchain-snapshot

• memtest86+

• multiboot

• ncurses: Builds a shared library that links libc.

• oaklisp

• readline: Builds a shared library that links libc.

• rr: difficult. Uses CMake to build both a 64bit library and a 32bit library. Manually fiddles -m32, but has no option to replace the 32bit compiler. Doing two passes fails, because the 32bit build pass would then need libcapnp-dev:i386 but we cannot have cross-arch dependencies.

• sbsigntool

• smlnj

• snapd

• strace

• syslinux: unused dependency

• user-mode-linux

• valgrind

• virtualbox

• wraplinux: can use i686-linux-gnu-gcc

• x86info: unused dependency

• xen

• xserver-xorg-video-geode: should stop building on amd64, use xserver-xorg-video-geode:i386 via multilib instead

• zlib: Builds a shared library that links libc.

Icons:

• TODO

• defer

• WIP

• done

CategoryMultiarch