meta-packages can't be installed on 64-bit Gutsy

[J. E. Pendergrass]

Using 64-bit Gutsy, I installed APTonCD via synaptic, and created a CD complete with a meta-package. Upon using the CD to update my secondary machine. which also runs 64-bit Gutsy, I found that while the individual packages are fine, the meta-package produced a "Wrong architecture 'i386'" error, as if it were 32-bit, and cannot be used.

[Jeremy Visser (jeremy-visser)]

If it's just a meta-package, they should be creating it with the "all" architecture (or was it "any"?).

[Laudeci Oliveira (laudeci)]

could you please send us the result of $ uname -m command in your terminal?

[J. E. Pendergrass (jedwardp)]

x86_64

[Laudeci Oliveira (laudeci)]

can you send these files .disk/info and aptoncd-metapackage stored in your backup dvd?

Thank you

[J. E. Pendergrass (jedwardp)]

The .disk file contains nothing but the following single line of text:

APTonCD for ubuntu gutsy - amd64 (2008-02-18 22:21) CD1

The metapackage is attached.

Thanks for your time and help.

[wild.ideas (wild-ideas)]

I have had the same problem in 8.10 and 9.04: The AptOnCD metapackage works fine with 32-bit machines, but fails for 64-bit machines with the "Wrong architecture 'i386'" error.

This is very frustrating, as there doesn't seem to be a workaround -- other than re-installing all the packages by hand.

The title ought to be updated to "meta-packages can't be installed on 64-bit platforms" and bumped up; surely this isn't a complicated fix...

[lljccoael (lljccoael-deactivatedaccount)]

As of 10.04, this is still an unresolved issue... For 64-bit machines, APTonCD is a totally broken and useless program.

[Laudeci Oliveira (laudeci)]

Thank you for the report, a patch for that bug is going to be ready until next monday.
Sorry about the delay to get it done.

[lljccoael (lljccoael-deactivatedaccount)]

Thank you for the patch.

[lljccoael (lljccoael-deactivatedaccount)]

Sadly, as of 10.10, the metapackage has the "Wrong architecture 'i386'" error.

[FabioS (aksaf)]

I don't know whether it could be useful, but in order to have the metapackage created with right arch I modified the file /usr/lib/python2.7/dist-packages/APTonCD/core/metapackage.py as installed from
/usr/lib/python2.7/dist-packages/APTonCD/core/metapackage.py
or $srcdir/APTonCD/core/metapackage.py from aptoncd_0.1.98+bzr117.orig.tar.gz
(they are alike).
I'm on Ubuntu 11.04 x86_64.
Here's an excerpt from attachment (actually I simply added/edited a pair of lines):

@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@
 [..]
 import gobject
+from APTonCD.core.utils import SystemInfo

 class MetaPackage(object):
  """
@@ -24,13 +25,14 @@
  """
[..] def __init__(self, filename=""):
+ util = SystemInfo()
   self.fileName = filename
[..]
   self.mtPriority = 'optional'
- self.mtArch = 'i386'
+ self.mtArch = util.architecture
   self.mtMaintainer = 'APTonCD Auto-Packager <http://aptoncd.sourceforge.net>'

It works (at list as far as I tested)

[FabioS (aksaf)]

two typos:
"from /usr/lib/python2.7/dist-packages/APTonCD/core/metapackage.py"
should be
"from pool/universe/a/aptoncd/aptoncd_0.1.98+bzr117-1.1build2_all.deb"
and
"at list" --> "at least"