Posted by: Anonymous Coward
on September 13, 2006 03:22 AM
One advantage the AMD64 architecture has over other 64-bit processors (say SPARC) is the ability to run 32-bit programs (without resorting to emulation). That is to say that as long as you enable the correct option in the kernel, you can run 32-bit programs written and compiled on any x86.
Now for this, you need a separate userspace, with some essentials (libc, and other things), in which to put 32-bit programs. A chrooted 32-bit userspace (with intelligent symlinks to connect with all the rest of your programs) is pretty easy to do with Gentoo (probably easy with other amd64 distros), and provides a sort of fallback for those few times when you need that proprietary, 32-bit app.
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64-bit & 32-bit
Posted by: Anonymous Coward on September 13, 2006 03:22 AMNow for this, you need a separate userspace, with some essentials (libc, and other things), in which to put 32-bit programs. A chrooted 32-bit userspace (with intelligent symlinks to connect with all the rest of your programs) is pretty easy to do with Gentoo (probably easy with other amd64 distros), and provides a sort of fallback for those few times when you need that proprietary, 32-bit app.
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