Why are 64-bit libraries not included in GnuPG but Gpg4win?

[Sven Richter]

Hello Bernhard,

> I don't know (but I respond with hints and repeat the question as HTML emails 

> are filtered out by some participants.)
Thanks for pointing that out.  This is actually my first time participating on a mailing list, I'm more used to forums and chats, so if there's anything else that's unusual about my mails, feel free to mention it. This one should now be plain text.

> As far as I know Thunderbird 78+ uses RNP/Botan, and not OpenPGP.js.
Maybe this has changed since I last looked into the topic, guess I'll have to check on that.
However I doubt that would change my setup. I far rather have GnuPG manage my keys as much as possible than the email client.

I kind of already guessed that maybe most people would use Gpg4win. But the installer for GnuPG is there and I'm sure some other people will use that as well.
Since I've set everything up, it works just fine with the 64-bit client, no issues at all. It's really just the 64-bit libraries missing when you use the basic GnuPG installation, once you get those it works without issues.

As far as it goes for the libraries, maybe I should specify that a bit more.
What I did was to create a folder at C:\Program Files (x86)\gnupg\bin_64 (used the same folder name as I found within the Gpg4win directory) and then I copied the following files over to that folder: gpgme-w32spawn.exe, libassuan6-0.dll, libgpg-error6-0.dll and libgpgme-11.dll.
>From what I'm able to tell, all of these already exist in the regular bin folder of the GnuPG installation (or rather their 32-bit variants do I guess). Unless there are any leftovers from when I installed Gpg4win, but I'm quite sure I checked that the whole gnupg folder was deleted after I deinstalled Gpg4win, before I reinstalled the latest version of GnuPG again.
The only difference I see is the number six in the file name libassuan-0.dll -> libassuan6-0.dll and the file size.

I'm sure the bin_64 folder in the Gpg4win directory has some libraries which might be specific to Kleopatra, GPA or some other part of Gpg4win, however I don't need those. I believe I'm only using 64-bit variants of files are are already present in their 32-bit form in the regular bin folder of GnuPG anyway. Hence it would make sense in my opinion to directly include the 64-bit variants of them in the basic GnuPG installation.

> Another aspect is interesting: After the setup change you did to Thunderbird,
> did all operations work fine using public and private keys from GnuPG?
Not quite, I had to import public keys into Thunderbird. Thunderbird expects to be able to manage all public keys regardless. Even with this setup of mine, it only pulls the private keys from GnuPG.
If people are interested in the exact process of how I've set it up, I could write a detailed explanation/guide for it. Either on the Thunderbird page of the wiki that you just recently created or on a dedicated page.

Kind regards,
Sven

‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ Original Message ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐
On Friday, December 3, 2021 11:10 AM, Bernhard Reiter <bernhard at intevation.de> wrote:

> Hi Sven,
> 

> Am Donnerstag 02 Dezember 2021 10:06:11 schrieb Bernhard Reiter:
> 

> > > It's not like they don't
> > > exist at all but they are part of Gpg4win only.
> 

> was in contact with Werner (for other reasons) yesterday,
> he may still write something about this, but what I think now is
> that you are talking about libraries like gpgme which Thunderbird uses.
> 

> > > Shouldn't they be included directly in the core part?
> 

> Gpgme is an access libary (the official API) and of course it is mainly needed
> when other application access it. Some people do not need it and it seems
> reasonable to me, to not consider it part of the core of the GnuPG crypto
> engine.
> 

> > Gpg4win is an official GnuPG distribution for Windows
> > and it is possible to customise the installation to mainly install GnuPG.
> 

> If it really is the libraries (like I assume now),
> it seems fine to have them in the full distribution for Windows.
> 

> Another aspect is interesting: After the setup change you did to Thunderbird,
> did all operations work fine using public and private keys from GnuPG?
> 

> Best Regards,
> Bernhard
> 

> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> 

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