[Vm-beginners] Re: Installing on CentOS 5

[David T. Lewis]

On Sat, May 28, 2011 at 01:06:35PM -0700, Sean P. DeNigris wrote:
> 
> David T. Lewis wrote:
> > 
> > I would expect that either
> > Squeak-4.4.7.2357-linux_i386.tar.gz or Squeak-4.4.7.2357-linux_i386.sh
> > would work fine.
> > 
> 
> Thanks, Dave. Squeak-4.4.7.2357-linux_i386.sh seems to work. I just had to
> load some dependencies with:
> yum install freetype zlib alsa-lib.
> 
> One thing though. It seems that it's linked against 32 bit versions of the
> shared libs. I guess that means the VM itself is 32 bit? And the server is
> 64 bit. Can the VM be built 64 bit, and if so would that be important to do?

Yes, the VM can be built 64 bit, and the only disadvantage of doing so is
that certain plugins do not work when compiled that way, although for many
server applications this will not be an issue. The officially distributed
VMs are currently compiled for 32 bit because this works well across a wide
range of 32 and 64 bit platforms, and because all of the plugins work when
compiled that way. The only real disadvantage, as you have discovered, is
that you need to install various 32 bit libraries on your 64 bit system.

If you compile your own VM (which I would encourage you to do), you will
find that is easier to build it in 64 bit mode, but certain plugins such
as FFI and MPEG will not work. If you do not need those plugins, then
there is no issue at all.

The higher performance Cog VM is currently 32 bit only, and this is not
likely to change in the near term. You must install 32 bit Linux runtime
libraries in order to use Cog or the officially distributed standard VM.

Dave