"dpkg --add-architecture" not implemented in Ubuntu 12.04.1 LTS

[N1ck 7h0m4d4k15]

According to "Multiarch/Implementation" on Debian Wiki
http://wiki.debian.org/Multiarch/Implementation

Ubuntu 12.04 LTS should use the command

sudo dpkg --add-architecture

to add foreign architectures .. if some user wants..

sudo dpkg --add-architecture i386

returns

dpkg: error: unknown option --add-architecture

Type dpkg --help for help about installing and deinstalling packages [*];
Use `dselect' or `aptitude' for user-friendly package management;
Type dpkg -Dhelp for a list of dpkg debug flag values;
Type dpkg --force-help for a list of forcing options;
Type dpkg-deb --help for help about manipulating *.deb files;

Options marked [*] produce a lot of output - pipe it through `less' or `more' !

So why this command not exist in dpkg in Ubuntu 12.04.1 LTS ?
I know that I can add a foreign architecture via /etc/dpkg/dpkg.cfg.d/multiarch
but just asking about the command..

Same question exist in Launcphad Answers Tracker :
https://answers.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/dpkg/+question/221647

Thanks

ProblemType: Bug
DistroRelease: Ubuntu 12.04
Package: dpkg 1.16.1.2ubuntu7.1
ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 3.5.0-23.35~precise1-generic 3.5.7.2
Uname: Linux 3.5.0-23-generic x86_64
ApportVersion: 2.0.1-0ubuntu17.1
Architecture: amd64
Date: Tue Feb 12 14:47:53 2013
InstallationMedia: Ubuntu 12.04.1 LTS "Precise Pangolin" - Release amd64 (20120823.1)
MarkForUpload: True
ProcEnviron:
 TERM=xterm
 PATH=(custom, no user)
 LANG=en_US.UTF-8
 SHELL=/bin/bash
SourcePackage: dpkg
UpgradeStatus: No upgrade log present (probably fresh install)

[Raphaël Hertzog (hertzog)]

Ubuntu 12.04 has an earlier implementation of multiarch where it uses the --foreign-architecture options that you see in /etc/dpkg/dpkg.cfg.d/multiarch. Newer versions of ubuntu have the latest multiarch implementation where dpkg --add-architecture is supported.

This is not a bug. I don't know what you expect. In any case, the new multiarch implementation won't be deployed to LTS 12.04 at this point.

[N1ck 7h0m4d4k15 (nicktux)]

I expected the command

sudo dpkg --add-architecture

to be functional in Ubuntu 12.04.1 LTS , because of version of dpkg (1.16.1.2ubuntu7.1) and the report at Debian Wiki

"multiarch support is present from dpkg 1.16.2 (or 1.16.0 in Ubuntu) and apt 0.8.13."

So maybe we can say to debian-wiki to change the reference ... ?

[Hibou57 (Yannick Duchêne) (yannick-duchene)]

I have the same issue. Does this mean there is no way to do clean multiarch development with Ubuntu 12.04?

Is there a planed fix for this?