I'm running slackware 64 current and installed the multlib packages according to alien BOB's wiki. Is it neccessary to update the 32 bit packages as well?

If so is there a script or a way to automate the dowloading of those packages?

I update them in line with the 64-bit versions. It seems neater to me to keep the version numbers the same. I use Alien Bob's mirror-slackware-current.sh and have a 32bit and a 64bit version of it with their own excludes.txt file. This makes it relatively easy to upgrade both at nearly the same time.

samac

maybe alien bob will provide a compat32 folder for 13.1 when it will be released.
in the meantime I tried to masscovert current 32bit packages with his script and this is the resulting folder.
if you want to try it you can mirror it with
if alien bob will provide compat32 packages for 64-current I'll readily remove the folder from there.

Thank you both for the replies and the script.

I have a few questions as well. The Slackware13 dvd I have is from the release date last year, and I am now running slack64 current. To change successfully to multilib now, do I need to first of all get the 32bit current tree prior to running the massconvert32 script, and when I follow the change log and keep my box upgraded, does this mean I also have to upgrade the 32bit converted pkgs as well to the 32bit current pkgs, and if so, what is the easiest way of doing this?

BTW samac, any chance of getting the excludes.txt file you use?

TIA

For the 32-bit files you only need a/ ap/ d/ l/ n/ and x/ so the exclude file cuts out everything else, but still builds you a working dvd.iso

The 64-bit exclude just removes the bits I don't use/need, it cuts my download time and bandwidth on my exceptionally poor broadband connection, ah the joys of living in the middle of nowhere.

Remember to modify and save two versions of Alien Bob's script.

samac

Thanks for that. Now what about keeping up to date with the multilib pkgs themselves. Have you any idea how quickly AlienBob gets upgraded pkgs out in line with the current pkgs from the Slackware team, and what is then the best method of keeping those upgraded. bearing in mind I tend to use slackpkg to keep updated weekly, and that util only allows one mirror. Besides which, does AlienBob have a mirror to download his updates from. Maybe if he sees this thread, he can answer directly.

Cheers

Why would you have to keep two different versions of the script? You can either add commandline parameters, or use two different configfiles.

In the case of using two configfiles, you will see a potential problem because the configfile needs to be called "mirror-slackware.current.conf". The solution is to create a symlink to the script with an arbitrary name, like this:
and then give your second configuration file the name "mycustomscript.conf". If you start the script with the symbolic name, it will pick up this "mycustomscript.conf".

Eric

Since I am in the Slackware team, my multilib packages usually hit the web around the same time Pat Volkerding releases his -current updates.
This happened for slackware-current a short while ago: http://connie.slackware.com/~alien/multilib/13.1/ holds the new multilib gcc/glibc packages for slackware-current (which I expect to become 13.1, hence the directory name).

I will not release an updated set of "-compat32" packages until the next stable Slackware is released. In the meantime, you can easily use the convertpkg-compat32.sh script to convert individual 32-bit Slackware packages, or use the massconvert32.sh script from time to time to create a full set.

Keep in mind that it is no problem if the versions of all those 32-bit "compat32" packages you install, are different from the original 64-bit Slackware package versions. The 32-bit set is an independent layer of software which does not conflict or interact with the 64-bit software.

Eric

Well, that all went really easily after my initial reservations, although just to be on the safe side I downloaded the latest mirror of the current tree. It would be nice if the massconvert script could pull from the current tree through ftp though, but I don't know how difficult that would be to implement, or even if it's possible.

Meanwhile I am running multilib, so a huge thanks to all of those who worked on putting it together and helping me through the process.

BRGDS

But the compat32 packages do not contain /usr/include files, they only come from the 64-bit library packages. If the compat32 package version is older than the includes from the 64-bit packages, 32-bit compilations may work or may not, depending on how much difference there is. Maybe there are now no significant differences between versions in 13.0 and -current. I think openssl used to be very picky if the includes were not from the exactly same version (as the library.so), but I don't know if that's still true.

Eric

Because I don't know better. However my method seems to work, it would be even easier if all your hard work could sneak into /extra then slackpkg could do all the work, and save us all from our own lack of knowledge.

samac