By Rachel Chalmers
Sun Microsystems Inc has contributed software to an open source development project that should let users run Linux applications on Solaris 7 without having to modify them in any way. Sun will also provide free tools to make it easy for Linux developers to check that their source code will run on Solaris. The open source effort, lxrun, ensures binary compatibility, while Sun’s free development tools will offer source code compatibility when they ship for free in June. Patrick Dorsey, Sun’s product line manager for Solaris, explained: This helps if there are any syntax issues or small incompatibilities. Solaris and Linux are already pretty close to each other. What this tool does is make that inherent compatibility even easier.
As for lxrun, it was originally developed for use with SCO Unixware. Sun engineers have been collaborating with the current open source code owner, Steven Ginsberg: We worked with him and contributed our enhancements back to the community, Dorsey explained. Available immediately, lxrun for Solaris Intel Platform Edition runs Linux applications unmodified alongside Solaris apps. We see benefits for both developers and for users, Dorsey said, developers get access to both the Linux and the Solaris user base – more seats and a larger market size. And Sun, of course, gets access to Linux application development resources, though Dorsey plays down this angle: Solaris is pretty robust in terms of application capture, he says, before conceding, but there are applications that have been hacked that will benefit Solaris as well.
Barbara Kay, product line manager for desktop software, says the biggest winners will be the users. We certainly are aware that new development is going on the Linux space, she says, noting that there is particular interest in KDE and GNOME. For users that are not looking for a cross-platform environment like the one we ship, a whizzy interface like KDE or GNOME might be just what they need. But the real strength of Linux over Solaris is the availability of games, Kay reveals. If you’ve got a developer who’s been doing heads-down coding for hours, they might want to take a break to use the latest greatest games, she chuckles. If games are available on Linux now you can get to them and use them on your Solaris workstation. Managers like making sure that kind of thing is available to their creative end users.
