markusbe.com

Hi

I wrote this article to show you how patch/diff files store difference information. After reading it you will be able to understand patch files when you read them, better understand certain patch error messages and apply changes manually.

Patch or diff files are just text files, so you can look at them with less or a text editor.

If you prefer to use a terminal, colordiff (in the colordiff package) provides syntax highlighting. If the patch is long, you may want to use less to look at it. You need the -R option for less, or else the colors won’t show. I also always use -S, which will enable horizontal scrolling in less instead of wrapping long lines. The whole command to view a patch with syntax highlighting through less in a terminal is:

markus@ubuntu:~$ cat file.patch | colordiff | less -RS

Patch formats

» Read more: How to read a patch or diff and understand its structure to apply it manually

Deutsch Русский

Quick answer

To run 32-bit programs on 64-bit installations of Ubuntu, install the package ia32-libs:

markus@ubuntu:~$ sudo apt-get install ia32-libs

Long story

I wrote this article to expand your knowledge and understanding of how Linux works. This knowledge should increase your problem solving skills and speed in the area of server administration and command line use. I show how I adapted an installation shell script of a commercial software package, Flash^® Media Server, which was written for RedHat Linux, to work on 64-bit Ubuntu Linux. For every symptom that occurs in the process, I explain the problem behind it and how to fix it. The end result is available in Installing Flash^® Media Server on Ubuntu Linux.

This article is the first part in a series on the subject. In it I write about running 32 bit programs on 64 bit operating systems and the concept of shared libraries.
» Read more: About running 32 bit programs on 64 bit Ubuntu and shared libraries