[gentoo-user] Changing glibc

[gentoo-user] Changing glibc

[Timur Aydin]

Hi,

I am using a closed source software package on my 64 bit gentoo linux 
system. The software package is "beyond compare" by scooter soft. 
Because of the way this package is built, it needs a specially patched 
version of glibc. I have patched my existing glibc version (2.18) and 
have been avoiding updating my glibc since. Now I am wondering whether 
the latest update of bcompare will work with the latest glibc (2.19).

So, if I upgrade to 2.19 and the package doesn't work, how can I go back 
to the working, patched 2.18? I know that portage issues the most scary 
warnings when you try to downgrade glibc. So what does the community 
recommend?

-- 
Timur

Re: [gentoo-user] Changing glibc

[Manuel McLure]

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One option is to copy the glibc version you want to some other directory
and set LD_LIBRARY_PATH before starting the executable. Running "ldd" on
all the executables/shared libraries in question should give you a list of
all the shared libraries you might need to copy to a safe place.


On Mon, Aug 18, 2014 at 11:06 AM, Timur Aydin <ta@taydin.org> wrote:

> Hi,
>
> I am using a closed source software package on my 64 bit gentoo linux
> system. The software package is "beyond compare" by scooter soft. Because
> of the way this package is built, it needs a specially patched version of
> glibc. I have patched my existing glibc version (2.18) and have been
> avoiding updating my glibc since. Now I am wondering whether the latest
> update of bcompare will work with the latest glibc (2.19).
>
> So, if I upgrade to 2.19 and the package doesn't work, how can I go back
> to the working, patched 2.18? I know that portage issues the most scary
> warnings when you try to downgrade glibc. So what does the community
> recommend?
>
> --
> Timur
>
>


-- 
Manuel A. McLure WW1FA <manuel@mclure.org> <http://www.mclure.org>
...for in Ulthar, according to an ancient and significant law,
no man may kill a cat.                       -- H.P. Lovecraft

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Re: [gentoo-user] Changing glibc

[Kerin Millar]

On 18/08/2014 19:06, Timur Aydin wrote:
> Hi,
>
> I am using a closed source software package on my 64 bit gentoo linux
> system. The software package is "beyond compare" by scooter soft.
> Because of the way this package is built, it needs a specially patched
> version of glibc. I have patched my existing glibc version (2.18) and
> have been avoiding updating my glibc since. Now I am wondering whether
> the latest update of bcompare will work with the latest glibc (2.19).
>
> So, if I upgrade to 2.19 and the package doesn't work, how can I go back
> to the working, patched 2.18? I know that portage issues the most scary
> warnings when you try to downgrade glibc. So what does the community
> recommend?
>

You should be able to downgrade glibc, provided that you haven't built 
and installed any new packages following the transition from glibc-2.18 
to glibc-2.19. That said, I would suggest that you back up the root 
filesystem as a contingency measure.

Still, why not test bcompare in a chroot? The latest stage3 tarball 
probably includes glibc-2.19 by now.

--Kerin

Re: [gentoo-user] Changing glibc

[J. Roeleveld]

On 18 August 2014 20:06:51 CEST, Timur Aydin <ta@taydin.org> wrote:
>Hi,
>
>I am using a closed source software package on my 64 bit gentoo linux 
>system. The software package is "beyond compare" by scooter soft. 
>Because of the way this package is built, it needs a specially patched 
>version of glibc. I have patched my existing glibc version (2.18) and 
>have been avoiding updating my glibc since. Now I am wondering whether 
>the latest update of bcompare will work with the latest glibc (2.19).
>
>So, if I upgrade to 2.19 and the package doesn't work, how can I go
>back 
>to the working, patched 2.18? I know that portage issues the most scary
>
>warnings when you try to downgrade glibc. So what does the community 
>recommend?

In cases like that I would do either of the following:

1) Run it inside a VM
2) run it inside a chroot

That way you can easily keep everything updated except for that application.

--
Joost

-- 
Sent from my Android device with K-9 Mail. Please excuse my brevity.

Re: [gentoo-user] Changing glibc

[Rich Freeman]

On Mon, Aug 18, 2014 at 2:21 PM, J. Roeleveld <joost@antarean.org> wrote:
>
> In cases like that I would do either of the following:
>
> 1) Run it inside a VM
> 2) run it inside a chroot
>
> That way you can easily keep everything updated except for that application.

Or better still run it inside a container.  Gives you most of the
benefits of both a VM and a chroot.  It isn't as isolated as a VM, but
it is more isolated than just running the thing on your system.  It is
also easy to bind-mount your home directory if that is helpful.  A
container replaces the entire userspace, potentially including init as
well.  So, as long as your kernel is compatible and you're not doing
anything too crazy with devices, this should solve your compatibility
issues.

--
Rich

Re: [gentoo-user] Changing glibc

[J. Roeleveld]

On Monday, August 18, 2014 03:12:15 PM Rich Freeman wrote:
> On Mon, Aug 18, 2014 at 2:21 PM, J. Roeleveld <joost@antarean.org> wrote:
> > In cases like that I would do either of the following:
> > 
> > 1) Run it inside a VM
> > 2) run it inside a chroot
> > 
> > That way you can easily keep everything updated except for that
> > application.
> Or better still run it inside a container.  Gives you most of the
> benefits of both a VM and a chroot.  It isn't as isolated as a VM, but
> it is more isolated than just running the thing on your system.  It is
> also easy to bind-mount your home directory if that is helpful.  A
> container replaces the entire userspace, potentially including init as
> well.  So, as long as your kernel is compatible and you're not doing
> anything too crazy with devices, this should solve your compatibility
> issues.

I should look into those.
Just noticed there is also a libvirt driver for it:
http://libvirt.org/drvlxc.html



> --
> Rich

[gentoo-user] Re: Changing glibc

[Grant Edwards]

On 2014-08-18, Rich Freeman <rich0@gentoo.org> wrote:
> On Mon, Aug 18, 2014 at 2:21 PM, J. Roeleveld <joost@antarean.org> wrote:
>>
>> In cases like that I would do either of the following:
>>
>> 1) Run it inside a VM
>> 2) run it inside a chroot
>>
>> That way you can easily keep everything updated except for that
>> application.
>
> Or better still run it inside a container.

Or better still, demand either a less broken app or one that's
statically linked.

-- 
Grant

Re: [gentoo-user] Re: Changing glibc

[Alan McKinnon]

On 18/08/2014 23:17, Grant Edwards wrote:
> On 2014-08-18, Rich Freeman <rich0@gentoo.org> wrote:
>> On Mon, Aug 18, 2014 at 2:21 PM, J. Roeleveld <joost@antarean.org> wrote:
>>>
>>> In cases like that I would do either of the following:
>>>
>>> 1) Run it inside a VM
>>> 2) run it inside a chroot
>>>
>>> That way you can easily keep everything updated except for that
>>> application.
>>
>> Or better still run it inside a container.
> 
> Or better still, demand either a less broken app or one that's
> statically linked.
> 

That was my thought too. The app is a visual differ. It's not rocket
science, so what business does it have needing a custom glibc?

My spidey-sense is tingling, I'm wondering what other weirdnesses such
an app might have under the covers


-- 
Alan McKinnon
alan.mckinnon@gmail.com

Re: [gentoo-user] Re: Changing glibc

[Francisco Ares]

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2014-08-18 19:03 GMT-03:00 Alan McKinnon <alan.mckinnon@gmail.com>:

> On 18/08/2014 23:17, Grant Edwards wrote:
> > On 2014-08-18, Rich Freeman <rich0@gentoo.org> wrote:
> >> On Mon, Aug 18, 2014 at 2:21 PM, J. Roeleveld <joost@antarean.org>
> wrote:
> >>>
> >>> In cases like that I would do either of the following:
> >>>
> >>> 1) Run it inside a VM
> >>> 2) run it inside a chroot
> >>>
> >>> That way you can easily keep everything updated except for that
> >>> application.
> >>
> >> Or better still run it inside a container.
> >
> > Or better still, demand either a less broken app or one that's
> > statically linked.
> >
>
> That was my thought too. The app is a visual differ. It's not rocket
> science, so what business does it have needing a custom glibc?
>
> My spidey-sense is tingling, I'm wondering what other weirdnesses such
> an app might have under the covers
>
>
> --
> Alan McKinnon
> alan.mckinnon@gmail.com
>
>
>

Just m 2 cents:  Have you tried kdiff3 ?

Good luck and best regards,
Francisco

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Re: [gentoo-user] Re: Changing glibc

[Timur Aydin]

No other diff program comes even close to BC in terms of diff output 
quality and merge capability. I am willing to go through much more hoops 
than this just to be able to use this under linux.

And also, to avoid any misrepresentation, their support in determining 
the cause of the issue was very good.

The problem seems to be that their linux build is using an older gcc 
version. This was causing an ABI related crash in the strstr function, 
which was using SSE instructions.

So at some point, they will probably switch to a newer compiler and the 
problem will go away. But if I mail their support, it would take many 
messages until we come to the same page (the previous developer getting 
copied on it, he remembers the issue etc etc). It is much faster to just 
try it :)

-- 
Timur

Re: [gentoo-user] Changing glibc

[Timur Aydin]

Thanks a lot guys for the helpful responses. I will definitely try all 
of them, just for the learning experience, even if one does take care of 
the problem.

Cheers!

-- 
Timur

Re: [gentoo-user] Changing glibc

[Mick]

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On Monday 18 Aug 2014 20:56:53 Timur Aydin wrote:
> Thanks a lot guys for the helpful responses. I will definitely try all
> of them, just for the learning experience, even if one does take care of
> the problem.
> 
> Cheers!

Also worth looking into is meld, if you are not running kde on your system.
-- 
Regards,
Mick

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[gentoo-user] Re: Changing glibc

[James]

Timur Aydin <ta <at> taydin.org> writes:


> I am using a closed source software package on my 64 bit gentoo linux 
> system. The software package is "beyond compare" by scooter soft. 
> Because of the way this package is built, it needs a specially patched 
> version of glibc. I have patched my existing glibc version (2.18) and 
> have been avoiding updating my glibc since. Now I am wondering whether 
> the latest update of bcompare will work with the latest glibc (2.19).

Why not contact "scooter soft" and inquire about their plans to 
support glibc (2.19), after explaining your experience with (2.19)?




just curious,
James