[openbeos] Binary compatibility with Linux, and Be OS

  • From: Mark A Johnson <hotplasma@xxxxxxxx>
  • To: openbeos@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
  • Date: Wed, 6 Nov 2002 16:11:46 -0500

Yeah, I know this thread was meant for the making of RealPlayer open
source, but this should bring up a point.
Ok, well my take on it is, that maybe this would be a good idea. Do what
the people at SkyOS did. Integrate a LinuxVM, so you can run Linux
programs on O/BeOS or whatever the new name will be. And have a third
party developer develop X for BeOS (even further than what has been
done). Or under this VM (probably going to be ran as a server maybe
linvm_server) And with this server have all the system calls adapted to
OBOS's calls and add some compatibility between the two and you will have
Linux programs running on BeOS, I know it is more complicated than what
it sounds but if enough determination and effort, it can happen.

Mark

On Wed, 06 Nov 2002 10:29:46 -0500 "Michael Phipps"
<mphipps1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> writes:
> >Finn Bastiansen <finn@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> >> > Well, when we support the codec API from the player, there is 
> no 
> >> > reason 
> >> > why we can't use those close sourced codecs.
> >> Ok, if you say it, I believe it :-) I am not a programmer. 
> Doesn't it 
> >> have 
> >> to be compiled for BeOS, or is it enough that the executable 
> format 
> >> (ELF) 
> >> is the same?
> >
> >It would be helpful if they are using ELF, it would be much nicer 
> if 
> >they are using the same compiler, etc.
> >Else it could get very hard to do it, but it wouldn't be impossible 
> ;-)
> 
> To clarify this a little bit (or maybe muddy the waters):
> 
> An ELF file is a standard, with all that entails. It exports (i.e. 
> contains and
> will allow others to use) certain functions. It imports (i.e. uses 
> and needs) 
> certain functions. With some exceptions (more in a minute), an ELF 
> x86 file
> *CAN* run on any x86 operating system. So long as all of the 
> imported 
> functions are available. Think about it - what is a program (esp in 
> today's world)
> but a set of x86 operations and some function calls to the OS. If 
> those exist, you
> are golden. In fact, IIRC, back 4 or 5 years ago, someone 
> successfully built some
> very simple Linux apps and ran them unmodified on R4. 
> 
> There are some issues though. One is system calls. While I don't 
> know for sure what mechanism
> Linux uses, I am very sure that they aren't exactly the same as 
> BeOS, and I won't promise
> that they will be the same for R1, either. There is certainly a 
> temptation to go that route. 
> Esp if there were a native X implementation, like BeX used to be 
> (any real old timers out there?).
> How convenient would it be to be able to use every Linux app? Very. 
> But there are certainly issues
> to make that happen. I think that some enterprising hacker could do 
> it, with effort, but it would not
> be easy and I think that time would be better spent getting an R1 to 
> work...
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 

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