Ubuntu 改變放掉 i386 的計畫

先前在「Ubuntu 19.10 要放掉 i386 架構」這邊提到 Ubuntu 要放掉 i386 的計畫,因為造成的迴響很大,現在官方決定修改本來的結論:「Statement on 32-bit i386 packages for Ubuntu 19.10 and 20.04 LTS」。

在本來的計畫裡,是完全放生 i386 架構 (完全不管):

While this means we will not provide 32-bit builds of new upstream versions of libraries, there are a number of ways that 32-bit applications can continue to be made available to users of later Ubuntu releases, as detailed in [4]. We will be working to polish the 32-bit support story over the course of the 19.10 development cycle. To follow the evolution of this support, you can participate in the discourse thread at [5].

現在則是打算透過 container 技術支援 32-bit library & binary,算是某種緩衝方式:

We will also work with the WINE, Ubuntu Studio and gaming communities to use container technology to address the ultimate end of life of 32-bit libraries; it should stay possible to run old applications on newer versions of Ubuntu. Snaps and LXD enable us both to have complete 32-bit environments, and bundled libraries, to solve these issues in the long term.

但應該還是會有程式沒辦法在 container 環境裡跑,看起來官方決定放掉了...

Ubuntu 19.10 要放掉 i386 架構

Ubuntu 19.10 版將不再支援 i386 架構了:「i386 architecture will be dropped starting with eoan (Ubuntu 19.10)」。

查了一下 x86-64 條目,AMD 的第一個 x86-64 版本是在 2003 年四月推出的:

The first AMD64-based processor, the Opteron, was released in April 2003.

Intel 則是在 2004 年六月推出:

The first processor to implement Intel 64 was the multi-socket processor Xeon code-named Nocona in June 2004.

但是 mobile 版的是 2006 年七月:

The first Intel mobile processor implementing Intel 64 is the Merom version of the Core 2 processor, which was released on July 27, 2006.

不論如何都已經十年了,如果考慮到 Ubuntu 18.04 提供五年支援,其實到 2023 年四月前都還有得用...

FreeBSD snapshot 版本復出...

很久前 FreeBSD 有提供 weekly build (還是 daily build?) 讓人安裝,以前還蠻喜歡抓這個版本下來裝,因為解開 ports 的東西不會太舊。現在網路夠快,用 Portsnap 拉一下就抓完了...

不過對於希望能用 -STABLE 的人絕對是一個相當棒的服務 (通常發生在 -STABLE 從 -CURRENT 合併新功能進來時... 這時可以直接裝一台機器測試,而不用先裝 -RELEASE 再 re-compile kernel & world 升級):「FreeBSD Development Snapshot Availability」。

目前針對 10-CURRENT 放出 amd64、i386、powerpc、powerpc64 四個平台,9-STABLE 則是 amd64 與 i386,所以總共是六個支線,檔案在官方的 FTP 站上可以取得:「ftp.freebsd.org/pub/FreeBSD/snapshots/」。