From: eric@tantalus.nrl.navy.mil (Eric Youngdale) Subject: Re: Binary compatibility with other *nix Date: Tue, 9 Mar 1993 01:30:38 GMT
In article <philipr.731635375@extro.ucc.su.OZ.AU> philipr@extro.ucc.su.OZ.AU (Philip Rhoades) writes:
>minyard@wf-rch.cirr.com (Corey Minyard) writes:
>>It should be theoretically possible for Linux to emulate the binary
>>interface of something like SVR4, etc. Has anyone considered doing
>>this? I think xenix is already available. This would give us the
>>"shrink wrapped" applications that some what while still preserving
>>the "free spirit" of Linux. Any thoughts?
>
>I think it would be great if it is possible! I have asked a similiar
>question in the past and the (small) response was that Linux in not likely
>to ever be binary compatible with the commercial stuff.
That's not what I have heard :-).
I not only think that it is possible, but quite probable that linux
will eventually support ELF binaries. When I get back from my ski trip I will
start looking into the kernel support required. Note that a lot more is needed
than just the kernel support - the GNU binutils need to be able to generate
ELF .o files, and ELF executables which they cannot really do yet. As I
understand it, this is a fairly high priority with the people working on
binutils so it is just a matter of time.
-Eric
--
"When Grigor Samsa woke up one morning from unsettling dreams, he
found himself changed in his bed into a monstrous vermin."
-F. Kafka