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?