Canonical a statement about the review of plans concerning the discontinuation of support for the 32-bit x86 architecture in Ubuntu 19.10. After examining the comments, Wine developers and gaming platforms, a decision has been made to ensure the build and delivery of a separate set of 32-bit packages in Ubuntu 19.10 and 20.04 LTS.
The list of delivered 32-bit packages will be prepared based on community feedback and will include components necessary for the continued operation of outdated programs that remain only in 32-bit form or require 32-bit libraries. If the list turns out to be incomplete and any missing packages are identified, there are plans to add to the package set even after the release.
It is stated that the discussions and comments that arose after the announcement of the discontinuation of i386 architecture support were a surprise to the distribution developers, as the issue of discontinuing i386 support has been discussed in the community and among developers since 2014. Ubuntu developers felt that a consensus was reached on the abandonment of i386 support and that no hidden issues were expected. However, it turned out that certain points were overlooked, including during consultations with Valve (note: some participants in the discussions likely did not anticipate that the decision would be made not only to stop building i386 packages but also to abandon the formation of multiarch libraries necessary for running 32-bit applications in a 64-bit environment).
In the long term, to ensure support for 32-bit applications in releases after Ubuntu 20.04, there are plans to collaboratively develop a solution with WINE, Ubuntu Studio, and game vendors to use container isolation systems for delivering 32-bit components from the Ubuntu LTS branch and organizing the launch of legacy applications. A necessary 32-bit environment and library set can be prepared based on Snaps and LXD.
It is worth noting that the reason for discontinuing support for the i386 architecture is the inability to maintain packages at the same level as other supported architectures in Ubuntu, due to the unavailability of the latest security advancements and protections against fundamental vulnerabilities like Spectre for 32-bit systems. Maintaining the package base for i386 requires significant resources for development and quality control, which are not justified due to the minimal user base (the number of i386 systems is estimated to be 1% of the total number of installed systems).
Source: opennet.ru
