[Vm-dev] VM Maker: ImageFormat-dtl.29.mcz

[K K Subbu]

On Thursday 12 April 2018 08:21 PM, Eliot Miranda wrote:
> While we can't rely on a system having its file database up-to-date
> we can rely on our district containing a runnable version of
> ckformat.c.  So while what you say is v nice in an ideal world, I
> think we do need something like ckformat.c now we're on the cusp of a
> cleaving between the 32/64 compatibility world ushered in by x86_64.

Eliot,

file(1) has been around since 1973 and many tools and package managers 
depend on it. Others VMs like Python etc. also use it. Squeak already 
has code to emit the magic file. Package managers could use it in their 
post-install script. The existing Debian package uses an outdated one so 
we may as well generate a supported version.

file can also take the filename as an argument:

  file -m /usr/local/lib/squeak/magic --mime blah.image

Also customizing a magic file doesn't require a recompilation, so it 
definitely helps us in the 32/64 transition.

Regards .. Subbu