787510 - [tracking] ship only a 64-bit binary on OS X

Status: RESOLVED FIXED

(Core :: General, defect)

Description

[Josh Aas]

I think we should start thinking about what is stopping us from removing our 32-bit binary and shipping only a 64-bit binary on OS X. We probably can't do this soon, but it would be a big download size win for us (40-50% iirc), plus we'd reduce build times and simplify our support matrix.

Silverlight having only a 32-bit binary is the biggest blocker I can think of right now. Flash and Java have had 64-bit binaries for a while. We should check on all of the Google plugins though (Talk, Earth).

There is some small number of the very first Intel Macs that have only 32-bit capable processors. I think the number of users we have on those machines is not high enough to outweigh the benefits of dropping our binary size so significantly.

Comment 1

[Nomis101]

(In reply to Josh Aas (Mozilla Corporation) from comment #0) 
> There is some small number of the very first Intel Macs that have only
> 32-bit capable processors. I think the number of users we have on those
> machines is not high enough to outweigh the benefits of dropping our binary
> size so significantly.


Macs with an Intel 32bit-only Processor are all these Macs (which are mainly 2006 Macs).

iMac "Core Duo" 1.83 17-Inch {Early 2006 - MA199LL - iMac4,1}
iMac "Core Duo" 2.0 20-Inch {Early 2006 - MA200LL - iMac4,1}
iMac "Core Duo" 1.83 17-Inch (IG) {Mid-2006 - MA406LL/A - iMac4,2}
MacBook "Core Duo" 1.83 13" {MacBook - MA254LL/A - MacBook1,1}
MacBook "Core Duo" 2.0 13" (White) {MacBook - MA255LL/A - MacBook1,1}
MacBook "Core Duo" 2.0 13" (Black) {MacBook - MA472LL/A - MacBook1,1}
MacBook Pro "Core Duo" 1.83 15" {MacBook Pro - MA463LL/A* - MacBookPro1,1}
MacBook Pro "Core Duo" 2.0 15" {MacBook Pro (Glossy) - MA464LL/A* - MacBookPro1,1}
MacBook Pro "Core Duo" 2.16 15" {MacBook Pro (Glossy) - MA601LL - MacBookPro1,1}
MacBook Pro "Core Duo" 2.16 17" {MacBook Pro 17-Inch - MA092LL/A - MacBookPro1,2}
Mac mini "Core Solo" 1.5 {Early 2006 - MA205LL/A - Macmini1,1}
Mac mini "Core Duo" 1.66 {Early/Late 2006 - MA206LL/A* - Macmini1,1}
Mac mini "Core Duo" 1.83 {Late 2006 - MA608LL/A - Macmini1,1}

Because MacOS X 10.6 requires a Mac with a 64bit processor, FF/TB 17 and above will not work on these Macs (so no need to care about them on trunk anyway). But there are also Macs with a 64bit-Processor and 32bit EFI.

Comment 2

[Stuart Morgan]

Last I checked, Talk and Earth were not 64-bit. Also, AFAICT there's no 64-bit QuickTime plugin for at least 10.6 and 10.7; I haven't checked 10.8. Given past history it seems unlikely the QT plugin will be substantially updated for non-latest OS releases.

You may want to investigate an intermediate state of building a stripped-down plugin-host-only binary that's 32-bit.

Comment 3

[Josh Aas]

Thanks for the info Stuart. Perhaps looking into a much smaller binary for plugin compat would be the best option.

Comment 4

[Morpheus3k]

(In reply to Josh Aas (Mozilla Corporation) from comment #3)
> Thanks for the info Stuart. Perhaps looking into a much smaller binary for
> plugin compat would be the best option.

I believe this bug is about a compat plugin container: https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=711386

Comment 5

[Chris Peterson [:cpeterson]]

btw, Google Chrome for Mac is still a 32-bit application: https://crbug.com/18323

Comment 6

[Gregory Szorc [:gps]]

With the landing of bug 1295375, I think this bug can be considered resolved.