Survey: Linux distribution & 32/64 bit

[Massimo Callegari]

Hi everyone, I am a bit surprised that most of the Linux users still download the 32 bit (i386) package of QLC+.
64 bit architectures are on the market since almost 10 years, so I would like to understand if there is any misunderstanding in which distribution Linux users adopt.
The assumptions are:

* a 64 bit distribution still supports 32 bit binaries
* the name "amd64" doesn't necessarily mean you need to have an AMD processor to work. It's just for historical reasons, as AMD has been the first introducing 64bit CPUs on the market
* when I release a new QLC+ version, I set the i386 version as default Sourceforge download for Linux. This doesn't mean the 64bit version won't work for you. I might decide to set amd64 as default for the next versions.

To check if your processor is 32 or 64 bit is quite easy. The one I like the most is using the 'lscpu' command.
Most likely you will see something like:
CPU op-mode(s): 32-bit, 64-bit
or
CPU op-mode(s): 32-bit

Using a 32bit distro on a 64bit processor is not that bad, but in some cases a 64bit OS on a 64bit CPU can really make the difference.

So, to help me understand which direction to take with the Linux packages, I would like to know: **which Linux distribution and architecture are you using ?**

The beauty of Linux is that a .deb package relies on shared libraries, so it can be kept small. Unfortunately the high fragmentation of distributions out there makes one package quite hard to work on any OS.
The variables in the QLC+ case are: 32/64 bit, udev0/udev1, Qt4/Qt5.
To cover all the combinations, I should create 8 packages every time I release a new QLC+ version. Kinda impossible for me.

Answering this survey can help me to narrow down the cases and cover the most used versions.

Thanks to everyone in advance !

[Santiago Benejam Torres]

Now I'm using Ubuntu 14.04 64bit on a HP550 laptop with a Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU T5670 @ 1.80GHz

[OddSocks]

Hi,

I use 64 bit Ubuntu and Fedora.

I hadn't realised there was a 64 bit download.

Looking forward to a QT5 release as I am hoping that this will support multi-touch

[Jano Svitok]

I'm using 64 bit ubuntu 13.04, 14.04, and sometimes 64 Win 7 or 32 bit XP, when I want to reproduce some windows problem. ...and I don't download Ubuntu packages

[Chris Laurie]

I am using 32lubuntu on a real ancient laptop - dunno if it can do 64bit, a little scared to change it.

New laptop donated is capable but someone else had it first and made it dual boot XP and Lubuntu 32bit.

[Joep Admiraal]

I am using Ubuntu 14.04 64bit for development.
So I am also not using packages.

[RickBrock]

Hi everyone, and thanks for the new updates Massimo and team.

I would ask a question to answer your question....

Are not 'most' Linux users using Linux on 'old' machines which have been slowed down by windows' bloated coding?
I know I stated using Linux to boost performance and usability on a good number of otherwise obsolete machines.

My point is this.... Are not most Linux users running older 32bit systems with low RAM?... And enjoying the new lease of life that the OS brings? Therefore sticking to a 32bit default would be most useful?

I suspect that if 64bit is default then there will be many 32bit users who simply do not know that their 'lesser' version is still available.? (And therefore qlcplus will become lass popular)


Just my thoughts.
Thanks again.

Rick

[Massimo Callegari]

Hi Rick, in general I agree with you. I saw several computers gaining a few more years of life thanks to Linux after Windows put them on their knees.

My consideration was: how many years do you have to go back to find 32bit computers ? The answer I gave to myself is: around 10.
I found myself surprised to see a Mint 17 64bit running smoothly on a Core 2 Duo. I always thought it was 32 bit...I was wrong. And it is 8 years old.
Even the mobile world is moving on 64bit.

So, I believe this is a matter of pure statistics. Probably the tendency is to go towards more and more 64bit systems, thus my choice to set 64bit as default for QLC+ on Linux.

But indeed what you say is correct, so I won't stop building the 32bit package. At the moment, for me, it's just a virtual machine. So it's OK.

The real question is: when will the Ubuntu/Fedora/Debian/etc guys stop releasing 32bit images ?

[RickBrock]

Thanks Massimo... i figured if you were surprised about a cpu then maybe i should check out mine...
typed in 'lscpu' and it returned this...

Code: Select all

Architecture:          i686
CPU op-mode(s):        32-bit, 64-bit
Byte Order:            Little Endian
CPU(s):                1
On-line CPU(s) list:   0
Thread(s) per core:    1
Core(s) per socket:    1
Socket(s):             1
Vendor ID:             GenuineIntel
CPU family:            6
Model:                 22
Stepping:              1
CPU MHz:               1862.021
BogoMIPS:              3724.04
L1d cache:             32K
L1i cache:             32K
L2 cache:              1024K
[code]

So I have a 64 bit processor?
If so, do i need a 64bit OS to run 64bit QLCplus?

thanks

[Massimo Callegari]

Yes to both questions.
You have a 64bit CPU and you can install a 64bit OS, so a 64bit QLC+

[Viktor Nova]

I personally tend to use 32 bit distributions even on modern hardware because I tend to find them quicker for the way I use my computer. I don't do any gaming, 3d/video editing, and in my experience 64 bit distributions are (still) more of a hassle, and I always end up having to install a whole 32 bit userland inside the 64 bit OS to run some thing that doesn't exist on 64 bit yet, 32 bit uses less memory and feels lighter.

My bottleneck is always the RAM - *never* the CPU, even when doing intensive music production. If I did anything with 3d or got back into video editing though, I would definitely start using 64 bit Linux again

Considering that low power, tiny computers are becoming more and more widespread, (and the fact that Intel is still developing 32 bit processors like the Edison http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/ ... dison.html) I don't think Linux distributions will ever stop making 32 bit releases

For the record, I am running 32 bit Debian on my i7 laptop at the moment =)

[Viktor Nova]

Massimo, you might consider using openSUSE build service to generate your Linux packages - I have never used it personally, but how it works is you upload your source and it will automatically compile proper packages for each of the major distributions. It also creates a native repository for each distro, so users can just install/update through their package manager (this is how ownCloud releases their packages, for instance)

https://build.opensuse.org/

[Massimo Callegari]

Viktor, thank you very much for the tip !
I'll read about it and see if QLC+ is supported by that build system

So many things to follow...

[Massimo Callegari]

Well, in general I agree with you.
It's annoying that Skype requires a whole bunch of 32bit libraries even on a 64bit system. But what do you expect from Micro$oft ??

In the past I've read around the performance comparison between 32 and 64 bit OSes and basically I found out there's not much difference. On databases and other specific applications there's a big advantage indeed.

Most likely I guess it's a natural evolution of things. If they invented 64bit processors, there might be a reason, don't you think ?

For example I don't understand all those people that still use 'vi' to edit files. Are you guys masochists ? Are you scared of icons and graphic stuff ?
I might be a nerd, but I prefer to be on the bleeding edge of technology rather than conservative.

Otherwise we all still be using MSDOS...

[Viktor Nova]

Haha, well said. =)

[Massimo Callegari]

For an additional info, I've just found this article today:

http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=n ... px=MTgxOTQ

Seems like 2021 is the year 32bit will die

[Massimo Callegari]

Hello again Viktor.
I gave a try to the OBS. Synced the sources from Github but the automatic build won't start cause it can't find a specfile.
Weird though cause as far as I understand, openSUSE uses RPMs, and QLC+ has the RPM spec file...

Maybe someone using openSUSE have created this specfile and can share it ?

[Jano Svitok]

Massimo, cingulingu long time ago proposed this service:
https://build.opensuse.org/package/show ... ingulingu1

I've also found original qlc (unmaintained) https://build.opensuse.org/package/show ... imself/qlc

Then there is this: https://build.opensuse.org/package/show ... wa/qlcplus
and https://build.opensuse.org/package/show ... ps/qlcplus

Maybe you can start from there.

[Massimo Callegari]

Oh wow, totally missed it...

Anyway it seems no one has been able to build a debian package so far.
We'd need at least Debian, Fedora, openSUSE and Arch.

[Luis García-Tornel]

Don't know if this helps, but I've stumbled upon this:

https://github.com/jordansissel/fpm