In an article posted at C|Net News.com sun has announced their intentions of expanding linux with Solaris features (and continuing to expand Solaris with Linux features) to make the two “similar”. Perhaps this is seriously the next step in the Intel Unix market for Sun, if they have, in the end, chosen to do without Solaris/x86. In other news, according to the article, Solaris 9 will be released May 22nd.
Sun to Include Solaris API’s in Linux
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Eugenia Loli
Ex-programmer, ex-editor in chief at OSNews.com, now a visual artist/filmmaker.
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how many sets of APIs will linux have? Solaris’ API now, and AtheOS, BEos, mac carbon, and windows(WINE)…doesn’t this seem like over kill? granted, i am a newbie to all this, but it seems like we( the linux community) should be improving the set of APIs that linux has, and not add more and more on top of it. But that may just be me. Please correct me if i am wrong. thanks
Yes, it is just you. Linux only has 1 API that I know so far.
The APIs you are mentioning are GUI toolkits, on top of X, not on top of the Linux kernel. This Solaris API, will integrate to the Linux kernel itself or its surrounded libraries.
In fact, if you want to see it this way, they are way more X11 APIs for Linux (and Unix in general) that not many people know about it: wxWindows, FLTK, TCL/TK, OpenMotif, FOX, QT and not even counting the APIs that embedded systems companies are creating and using.
However, Linux is just the kernel. What you put on top of X, it does not matter, because, usually, only X itself is on top of Linux.
I think this is Linux APIs being built into Solaris not the other way around. I should make it easier to move Linux apps to Sun, if that’s what you want to do. Now I want the Sun APIs in Linux so I can move all the SUN stuff to Linux.
thanks for clearin that up, that makes much more sense then that way i was thinkin.
Yeah, you missed something
The article mentions this is a two-way exchange. Sun started building the Linux API into Solaris 9, and now they are going to build the Solaris API into Sun Linux (Solinux? Linolaris? “No, were not kidding”?)
well if sun builds it into their version of Linux, it will be part of Linux as a whole, unless the Sun APIs will be a module that you download, then they can make them binary only.
“Perhaps this is seriously the next step in the Intel Unix market for Sun, if they have, in the end, chosen to do without Solaris/x86. In other news, according to the article, Solaris 9 will be released May 22nd.”
I really don’t think they are going to drop Solaris x86. Not after the feedback they receieved about it.
Although I wonder how necessary Solaris x86 actually is anymore. For example, I ran Solaris x86 because Solaris is my favorite OS and I wanted to develop for Solaris. But now that Sun workstations (The SunBlade) is more affordable than the average PC, I can actually afford to buy my own Sparc box to replace Solaris x86. And I am of the opinion that Sparc is superior to x86 anyway.