Rant about PHP and 64bit
I have just spent the last hour editing the configure script because PHP fails to find libraries as specified. On Warez-BB’s servers we install all of our things under a prefix /usr/server. This allows us to separate the junk RPMs that CentOS comes with and the things we custom compile. This is our workaround for preventing our compiled and installed apps to overwrite what comes originally with the CentOS system.
The first problem arises when we must reconfigure ld.config every time we reinstall to include these libraries. This is fair enough considering we set up our own custom prefix. However, CentOS is configured by default to compile and install libraries into the folder /usr/lib – even in a 64bit version of CentOS. For those who do not know, /usr/lib is for 32bit libraries, and /usr/bin64 is for 64bit libraries. Since we’re on a 64bit server, we should be accustomed to running on 64bit libraries instead. But by default, CentOS queries /usr/lib for libraries (regardless of 64bit or 32bit) when we compile. And if it doesn’t find them, it throws out errors, even if it’s found in /usr/lib64.
Just a FYI for those who are confused because we’re talking about 32bit binaries in a 64bit system. Linux can run both 32bit and 64bit binaries at the same time – unlike Windows, which in my opinion, is an epic fail when it comes to the whole 32bit/64bit architecture stuff.
We must force the “configure” script (a configuration script that we must run when we compile something to tell it what to include and exclude) to get libraries from lib64 instead. This is fine until more errors are thrown out because some of required dependencies are installed in /usr/lib instead. This is because the configure script can only look for libraries at lib or lib64 at once. Though, this saga is partially due to my stupidity how 64bit OSes work, we cannot forgive CentOS for installing 64bit libraries by default to a folder destined for 32bit libraries to begin with.
I spent the past hour running around in circles chasing each dependency that failed and editing the configure script to force detect it through – this is, of course, a bitch to do.
The solution? To get the CentOS devs to include both /usr/lib and /usr/lib64 into the configure query. But prioritize the preferred library to /usr/lib64 if is duplication of 32bit and 64bit libraries. Though I am unsure if 32bit libraries can actually link to 64bit binaries, this would have helped me. I guess ultimately, what CentOS should do is dynamically set the library install path (whether /usr/lib or /usr/lib64) when we compile and install programs, they will always be in the correct folders.
