[Build-common-hackers] Bug#794386: please make multiarch support easier to use

[Helmut Grohne]

Package: cdbs
Severity: wishlist

Hi Jonas,

I am filing this bug as a summary of our productive IRC discussion.

Currently, multiarch enabled libraries need to add at least the
following line:

DEB_CONFIGURE_EXTRA_FLAGS += --libdir=\$${prefix}/lib/$(DEB_HOST_MULTIARCH)

Furthermore, you mentioned that some d-shlibmove magic is needed (e.g.
jbig2dec).

It would be nice, if there was some easier way to enable multiarch in
cdbs based packages. I imagine (subject to changing the color of the
bike) e.g. DEB_ENABLE_MULTIARCH=1, which would take care of these.

Likely, cmake also needs another tweak to enable multiarch. It could be
added later under the same fiddle.

There certainly is a tradeoff to be made here. cdbs already has lots of
variables it evaluates. Adding more implies a cost for the user to
remember all of their meanings. Possibly this feature is "too small" to
warrant a new name. But maybe not. Thanks for considering.

Helmut