Path: gmd.de!xlink.net!howland.reston.ans.net!pipex!uunet!vtserf.cc.vt.edu! vtaix.cc.vt.edu!tdunbar From: tdun...@vtaix.cc.vt.edu (Thomas Dunbar) Newsgroups: comp.os.linux.misc Subject: what COFF binaries does linux support? Date: 23 Dec 1993 20:26:05 GMT Organization: Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA Lines: 4 Distribution: world Message-ID: <2fcust$pp9@vtserf.cc.vt.edu> NNTP-Posting-Host: vtaix.cc.vt.edu the .99.14g kernel proports to have COFF binary support. who's actually run what coff binaries on it? thomas
Path: gmd.de!xlink.net!sol.ctr.columbia.edu!spool.mu.edu!olivea! gossip.pyramid.com!pyramid!unify!csusac!citrus!longyear From: longy...@citrus.SAC.CA.US ( Alfred Longyear ) Newsgroups: comp.os.linux.misc Subject: Re: what COFF binaries does linux support? Message-ID: <1993Dec24.044645.15520@citrus.SAC.CA.US> Date: 24 Dec 93 04:46:45 GMT References: <2fcust$pp9@vtserf.cc.vt.edu> Reply-To: longy...@sii.com Organization: Citrus Grove Public Access (916) 381-5822 Sacramento CA. USA Lines: 78 Follow-To: comp.os.linux.development tdun...@vtaix.cc.vt.edu (Thomas Dunbar) writes: >the .99.14g kernel proports to have COFF binary support. who's >actually run what coff binaries on it? Thomas, [By the way, this is an article for the c.o.l.development channel. Folloups directed there.] I knew that this was going to be a question when I gave the COFF loader to Linus for the impending kernel release. I weighed the decision carefully and decided that it was time to stop patching the kernel for COFF and put it into the standard release. The COFF loader is responsible for loading programs. HOWEVER --- and this is a very big BUT The iBCS emulator is responsible for the execution of IBCS programs which are loaded by either the COFF or ELF loader. Ok, here is the low down of the information. 1. The ELF loader is and has been in the kernel for some time. (ever since pl12, I believe. I had a pre-pl12 version, but it was a set of patches.) 2. The COFF loader should go out at the pl15 (well, actually in pl14g, but who's counting :-)) 3. The IBCS emulator is still a stub in that kernel. A large patch was put into the kernel for the iBCS stuff, however, there are still more patches which must go into the kernel to support iBCS. 4. Shared libraries for iBCS. They are still pending release. To answer your question -- The following packages have been, or will be shortly, tested a. perl (tested. works for all but network functions) b. Lotus 123 (tested. works.) c. WordPerfect (unconfirmed. Preliminary indications are that it will work.) Those are the limits to the tested pieces of software. It is not that this is the limit of all packages available. It is only that those are the packages used by the people who have the development software. I can say that programs which use X windows do not work. It is not that they never will. They will work once we have a version of the libx11 shared library running on Linux. The same can be said about network based programs (those which use the sockets library). This requires a shared library for network services. Do you wish the development software? It is available free for the asking. All that you must do is to join the development channel and ask for it. If you ask there then I'll be happy to tell anyone where it is, and provide a modicum amount of hand-holding to install it in the LATEST kernel (If you have love affair with 0.99.pl10 then don't bother to ask.) To join the development channel, send email to linux-activists-requ...@niksula.hut.fi. The channel name is IBSC2 (Don't ask me why it is misspelled. I didn't create it.) Basically, what I wanted to do was to seperate the COFF requirements from the IBCS requirements. COFF is like ELF; an object file format. Now the group can concentrate on the functions required for IBCS. The COFF loader is available for all who may need to change the functions needed for loading executables. It should remove some of the conflicts and make things easier in the future. Atleast, that is my reasoning and why I asked that the COFF loader be included into the released kernel. -- longy...@citrus.sac.ca.us csusac.ecs.csus.edu!citrus!longyear