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How to: Using the 32-bit freepascal compiler on 64-bit linux

Last modified on Tue, 16th Feb 2010 at 22:05 GMT by zipplet
I wrote this guide as I recently switched my home linux box to a 64-bit version of ubuntu server and had problems compiling 32-bit binaries from freepascal.

1. Obtain and install the 32-bit version of freepascal


This is the easy bit. You want the 32-bit linux binary release in a tar archive - http://www.freepascal.org/down/i386/linux.var. As root, extract this tarball and start the installation:

wget <filename>
tar -xvf <filename>
./install.sh


Accept all of the defaults (just hit enter). Freepascal is now installed but currently is useless!

2. Install required packages


/!\ This will differ for other distributions! The instructions here are for debian based distributions. /!\

You need to install the barebones build tools first, if you haven't already:

sudo apt-get install build-essentials


Now install 32-bit specific libraries and build tools:

sudo apt-get install libc6-dev-i386 ia32-libs


3. Configure ld so it knows about the 32-bit libs


We now need to tell ld about the new libraries. For ubuntu server we need to create a new file under /etc/ld.so.conf.d/ containing a path to the 32-bit libs.
Create a file called /etc/ld.so.conf.d/lib32.conf and make sure it contains:

/usr/lib32


Run sudo ldconfig to update the configuration.

4. Configure freepascal


Lastly we need to make some changes to the freepascal configuration file. This usually lives in /etc/fpc.cfg. Open the file in your favourite editor and look for something similiar to this:

# searchpath for libraries
#ifdef cpux86_64
-Fl/usr/lib/gcc/x86_64-linux-gnu/4.4.1
#endif

#ifdef cpui386

-Fl/usr/lib/gcc/x86_64-linux-gnu/4.4.1
#endif


We need to alter the library paths and add an extra switch -Xd. Modify it to look like this:

# searchpath for libraries
#ifdef cpux86_64
#-Fl/usr/lib/gcc/x86_64-linux-gnu/4.4.1
-Fl/usr/lib32
#endif

#ifdef cpui386

#-Fl/usr/lib/gcc/x86_64-linux-gnu/4.4.1
-Fl/usr/lib32
#endif

# Extra switch
-Xd


It is good practice to leave the default there, commented out.