The Debian package makefile (debian/rules) currently contains the
following lines since time immemorial:
DO_MACHINE_CODE=no
ifeq ($(DEB_BUILD_ARCH),i386)
DO_MACHINE_CODE=yes
endif
ifeq ($(DEB_BUILD_ARCH),powerpc)
DO_MACHINE_CODE=yes
endif
ifeq ($(DEB_BUILD_ARCH),sparc)
DO_MACHINE_CODE=no
endif
ifeq ($(DO_MACHINE_CODE),yes)
MACHINE_OPTS=--with-machine-code
else
MACHINE_OPTS=--without-machine-code
endif
As you can see, --with-machine-code is only enabled on i386 (x86) and
powerpc, for some reason. Marek Habersack had the following to say in
the changelog for 7.5.17:
* Disabled using the machine code in the pike bytecode. It poses a
security risk and breaks under kernels with exec-shield or PAX.
Apart from that, no explanations. Is the above reason, or any other,
still valid?
