CrossOver and Wine

Jeremy White

CEO, Codeweavers, Inc.

jwhite@codeweavers.com

December 2002

Outline

• About the Speaker

• Overview of Wine

• Overview of CrossOver

• Future of CrossOver

• Demonstration

About Wine• Started 1993• 300 Developers from around the world• Free Implementation of the Windows API• LGPL license• Maintainer: Alexandre Julliard of CodeWeavers• Key Benefits:

– Wine loader, runs Windows Binaries

– WineLib, Ports Windows source

Wine Benefits – Binary Loader• Runs existing Windows executables• Load Windows DLLs and components for use

under Linux• Runs at full speed (no machine emulation unlike

VMWare / Win4Lin / Plex86)• Runs in user space (no kernel modules)• Integrates with Linux Window Manager• No Windows License or installation required

Wine Benefits - WineLib• Recompile existing C/C++ code to create native

Linux executables• Flexible: mix and match DLLS, OCXs, and SO.• Programmers maintain one code base• Companies can continue to leverage Windows

development expertise• Free, as in free beer (no run time license like

Mainsoft/Bristol)• Free, as in free speech (source code available,

independent of Microsoft)

Windows Executable File (.EXE)

Application Libraries (DLLs)

Windows Low-level Drivers

Windows DLLs (e.g. Kernel, User, GDI)

Windows Architecture

Windows Executable File (.EXE)

Application Libraries (DLLs)

Wine System Libraries

[OPTIONAL] Windows DLLs

Linux Low Level Drivers (glibc, x11drv)

Wine Architecture

Windows1 540

DLLs Functions

14,786

Used in MS Office34 24 445

1 Stock Windows 98 Installation2 As of May 1, 20023 Static Linkage Only4 Basic usage

Wine2 120 8,275

Wine Coverage of MS Office4 24 445

Wine Scope

Wine Challenges

• Developing Wine is HARD:– Huge Scope– Incomplete Specifications– Steep learning curve– Requires senior developers with knowledge of Windows,

Linux, and X internals, and a love for debugging.

• The Trap: Because it’s easy to use native DLLs, many Wine developers do

• While single applications can be made to run well, most applications run poorly

• A line of products: CrossOver Plugin, CrossOver Office, Server Edition

• Based on a customized version of Wine

• Worked on by many of the best minds in Wine development (Alexandre Julliard…)

• Mixed license (LGPL and proprietary)

• Changes to Wine returned to Wine

What is CrossOver?

• Ease of installation and use

• Applications that work

• Support if something goes wrong

• Integration with the desktop

• Server Edition– The benefits of thin clients without the price– Support for non Linux Unixes (e.g. Solaris)

CrossOver benefits

• Microsoft Office 2000– Word, Excel, Power Point, Outlook, IE, Visio

• Microsoft Office 97– Word, Excel, Power Point

• Lotus Notes 5.x• Quicken 2002• QuickTime, Windows Media Player, Shockwave,

Trillian, more than 10 other plugins

What is Supported?

• Better international and multi-byte support, XIM input methods

• Expanding the range of applications:– Access, Front Page– Office 2002 / XP support– Lotus Notes 4.x and 6.x support– MS Project, QuickBooks, Photoshop, Lotus

SmartSuite, etc.

Future of CrossOver

References and Links

• http://www.winehq.com

• http://www.codeweavers.com