[Multiarch-devel] cross-architecture conflicts or equivalent for libc packages

[Aurelien Jarno]

On Tue, Jun 03, 2014 at 09:00:38AM +0200, Raphael Hertzog wrote:
> Hi,
> 
> On Mon, 02 Jun 2014, Aurelien Jarno wrote:
> > > Alternatively, we can create an empty package called for example
> > > multiarch-no-foreign, which is arch:any and Multi-arch: none. That way
> > > all packages which should not be installed as foreign architecture can
> > > depend on this one.
> > > 
> > > What do you think?
> > 
> > Well it won't work, because installing libc6-amd64:i386 will pull
> > multiarch-no-foreign:i386, and thus the whole set will be installable.
> 
> This can be solved by ensuring that it's installed in sync with dpkg, eg
> by letting dpkg depends on multiarch-no-foreign, no?

That indeed would do it.

> This would be a supplementary hassle to cross-grade a system from one arch
> to another though.

That's true. This point to the question: how is the main architecture of
a system determined, and how is happening the switch between the main
and the foreign architecture in a cross-grade procedure?

This might be a problem even if we choose to update the multiarch
specification to disallow foreign packages.

> Or maybe we don't need the dependency but we can just get it installed
> during debootstrap?

If it only installed during deboostrap with nothing depending on it, it
can be reinstalled for another architecture. apt might even be smart
enough to suggest that.

-- 
Aurelien Jarno                          GPG: 4096R/1DDD8C9B
aurelien at aurel32.net                 http://www.aurel32.net