New to x86_64; why so many i386 packages?

[Chris Snook]

Steve Snyder wrote:
> I just installed the x86_64 build of Fedora 8.  This is my first ever 
> experience with x86_64 Linux as I haven't had the hardware before now. 
> 
> I'm amazed at the number of duplicate packages installed.  My total of 
> 2096 packages installed includes 417 i386 and 2 i686 packages, all of 
> which duplicate an existing x86_64 packages.
> 
> I understand that some applications don't play nicely when built for 
> 64-bit pointers, but is it really necessary to have all these 
> compatibility libraries just for those few apps?
> 

It depends.  If you want to use 3rd-party browser plugins that are only 
available for 32-bit firefox, you need the plethora of libraries and 
their dependencies required to support it.  Plenty of other 32-bit apps 
can cause this dependency cascade as well, so the installer just gives 
you both versions of most libraries.

Personally, I do the following after installing a 64-bit system:

yum remove *.i386
yum install yum-basearchonly

And everything works just fine.

-- Chris