armel

Armel is a Debian architecture designation for ARM-based systems that use the ARM Embedded Application Binary Interface (EABI) with a little-endian data layout. It represents a 32-bit ARM port that relies on a soft-float ABI, meaning that floating-point operations are performed in software rather than by a hardware floating-point unit. The name contrasts with armhf, which targets the ARM hard-float ABI on certain processors.

Software built for armel is packaged under the Debian arch code “armel” and is typically compiled with the GNU EABI toolchain, using compilers such as gcc-arm-linux-gnueabi and the corresponding libraries (libc6, libgcc, etc.) built for the armel ABI. This configuration enables running applications on devices with ARM cores that may lack a hardware FPU or prefer software floating-point support, while still adhering to the ARM EABI conventions.

Armel targets 32-bit ARM devices, including many embedded systems and older ARM cores (such as ARMv4t and later). It is distinct from armhf, which uses a hard-float ABI and is geared toward newer devices with hardware floating-point support. As such, both armel and armhf are separate Debian ports that require separate packages and toolchains, and software must be built specifically for the chosen ABI to ensure compatibility.

Over time, the relative prominence of armel has declined as hardware support and performance have improved for hard-float and 64-bit ports. Debian and related distributions continue to provide ARM ports to support older hardware and embedded environments, while newer devices often align with armhf or ARM64.