Why are still not at 64 bits [was Can't figure out Firefox Plugin Requirement ]

[Ben Scott]

On 2/15/07, Bill McGonigle <bill at bfccomputing.com> wrote:
>    * are there any gotchas with running 32-bit apps under a linux
> that's native to x86-64?

  Source or binary?

  With source, well-written code just needs to be recompiled.  Of
course, we all know that a lot, if not most, code is *NOT*
well-written.  See my other message in this thread WRT "moron
programmers" for more.

  Binary: My understanding is that a 32-bit binary can be run under a
64-bit kernel, but you need a 32-bit environment to do so.  So any
libraries the binary depends on also need to be built (for x86-32) and
installed in parallel with their x86-64 counterparts.  I could be
wrong on this; I haven't verified the information's authenticity, and
I certainly haven't tried it.

-- Ben