--- Peter da Silva <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Yes. But my understanding is that fink is for ported unix apps. I'm > > talking about unported apps. In other words, apps designed for PPC > > Linux, which in principle could be made to run on OS X unchanged. I > > think. > > A Linux app *is* a UNIX app. >
I believe Fink is a toolkit designed to make porting source level code to Darwin much easier. Unix variations have differences in headers and place and form of settings, etc. Fink makes this stuff easier to deal with at the source code level. The original question was about running compiled apps on Darwin without needing any recompile. So, for instance, running the version of Gimp that has been compiled for YellowDog Linux directly on Darwin. Darwin cannot currently do this. FreeBSD can run the version of Gimp compiled for RedHat on PeeCees because it has a layer that can load the RedHat executable format and can translated api calls on the fly that may be different in FreeBSD. The translation layer adds some overhead, but it is very compatible. A clearly defined and supported executable format, loader and runtime environment made this possible on PeeCees. Do all versions (or most important versions) of Linux on PPC use the same executable format etc.? If so, it makes this kind of project feasible. The FreeBSD code may be a place to start. Ed ===== ----------------- Ed Murphy [EMAIL PROTECTED] -- Unsupported OS X is sponsored by <http://lowendmac.com/> Support Low End Mac <http://lowendmac.com/lists/support.html> Unsupported OS X list info <http://lowendmac.com/lists/unsupported.html> --> AOL users, remove "mailto:"; Send list messages to: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To unsubscribe, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> For digest mode, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subscription questions: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Archive <http://www.mail-archive.com/unsupportedosx%40mail.maclaunch.com/> Using a Mac? Free email & more at Applelinks! http://www.applelinks.com
