MultilibUnterstützung

MultilibUnterstützung, often shortened to multilib, refers to the capability of an operating system or software distribution to support multiple different architectures or instruction sets simultaneously on the same system. This typically means being able to run applications compiled for 32-bit processors on a 64-bit system, or even supporting different endianness.

The primary motivation for multilib support is compatibility. Many older applications were compiled for 32-bit architectures, and without multilib, users would be unable to run them on newer 64-bit hardware. This is particularly relevant in Linux distributions, where maintaining compatibility with legacy software is often a priority.

Implementing multilib involves providing libraries and tools that can handle different binary formats. For instance, a 64-bit Linux system with multilib enabled will typically include both 64-bit and 32-bit versions of standard libraries like glibc. The dynamic linker plays a crucial role in selecting the correct library version at runtime based on the executable's architecture.

While multilib offers significant advantages in terms of compatibility, it does come with some drawbacks. It increases the complexity of the system, requiring more disk space to store the additional libraries and potentially leading to more intricate build processes for software developers. However, for many users and distributions, the benefits of being able to run a wider range of software outweigh these challenges.