What precisely would be the implications of turning off lib32 ?

[Manish Jain]

On 2020-06-30 18:12, Polytropon wrote:
> On Tue, 30 Jun 2020 17:50:41 +0530, Manish Jain wrote:
>> Whenever I install FreeBSD, I see the installer automatically selects
>> the lib32 distribution for installation.
>>
>> I often wonder what would happen if I turn off lib32. How does it affect
>> my amd64 box ?
> 
> Generally, a 64 bit system can execute 32 bit programs. If
> those are linked against system libraries which on amd64
> are 64 bit, the program would not work as expected, so
> there are 32 bit libraries for (potential) 32 bit programs
> that you might wish to run.
> 
> 

Hi Poly/others,


But, from what I can imagine, there are no pre-installed 32-bit programs 
in an amd64 box. Further, if the user creates any of his/her own 
binaries, they too would be amd64.

If my understanding is right, it should be :

1) entirely safe for the user to deselect the lib32 distribution;
2) considered by FreeBSD makers whether to have lib32 on by default at 
the time of installation.

Your comments ?


Regards,
Manish Jain