View source for Lxrun

{{Short description|Linux compatibility layer for Unix systems}}
{{For|the Windows utility named lxrun|Windows Subsystem for Linux}}
{{lowercase title}}
{{Infobox software
|name                       = lxrun
|logo                       =
|screenshot                 =
|caption                    =
|collapsible                =
|author                     = Mike Davidson
|developer                  =
|released                   = 1997 <!-- {{Start date|YYYY|MM|DD}} -->
|latest release version     = 0.9.6pre1
|latest release date        = <!-- {{Start date and age|YYYY|MM|DD}} -->
|latest preview version     =
|latest preview date        = <!-- {{Start date and age|YYYY|MM|DD}} -->
|frequently updated         =
|programming language       =
|operating system           = [[UnixWare]], [[SCO OpenServer]] and [[Solaris (operating system)|Solaris]]
|platform                   =
|size                       =
|language                   =
|status                     =
|genre                      = [[Compatibility layer]]
|license                    = [[Mozilla Public License]]
|website                    =
}}
{{Portal|Free and open-source software}}
In [[Unix]] computing, '''lxrun''' is a [[compatibility layer]] to allow [[Linux]] binaries to run on [[UnixWare]], [[SCO OpenServer]] and [[Solaris (operating system)|Solaris]] without recompilation. It was created by Mike Davidson. It has been an [[Open-source software|open source]] software project since 1997, and is available under the [[Mozilla Public License]]. Both SCO and Sun Microsystems began officially supporting lxrun in 1999.
== Timeline ==
*August 22, 1997: lxrun is cited as a proof of concept of cross-platform binary compatibility at the [[86open]] conference hosted by SCO in Santa Cruz, CA.<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.telly.org/86open-faq
|title=86Open Frequently-Asked Questions
|accessdate=2007-12-01
|author=Evan Leibovitch
|authorlink=Evan Leibovitch
|date=December 23, 1997
|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20071116130914/http://www.telly.org/86open-faq
|archivedate=November 16, 2007
|url-status=dead
}}</ref>
*August 29, 1997: lxrun's first mention on Usenet, in comp.unix.sco.misc.<ref>{{cite newsgroup
| title = Need binaries for linux sco support
| author = Jean-Pierre Radley
| date = 1997-08-30
| newsgroup = comp.unix.sco.misc
| url = http://groups.google.com/group/comp.unix.sco.misc/msg/b3efc2d3ae82b1f9/666077a57b5f39ee?lnk=st&q=lxrun&rnum=41#666077a57b5f39ee
| accessdate = 2007-11-30
}}</ref>  Most notably, the post mentions lxrun's availability in source and binary form from the [[SCO Skunkware]] FTP site.  A later post in the thread mentions contributions by various authors, both inside and outside of SCO.
*October 1, 1997: The official lxrun website is established.<ref name="site"/>
*June 19, 1998: Ronald Joe Record, Michael Hopkirk, and Steven Ginzburg present a paper on lxrun at the [[USENIX]] 1998 Technical Conference in New Orleans, LA.<ref>{{cite web
|url = http://www.usenix.org/publications/library/proceedings/usenix98/freenix/record_html/lxrun.html
|title = Linux Emulation for SCO
|accessdate = 2007-12-01
|author = Ronald Joe Record
|author2=Michael Hopkirk |author3=Steven Ginzburg
|date = May 8, 1998
|publisher = [[USENIX]]
}}</ref>
*Mar 1, 1999: SCO announces Linux compatibility in UnixWare 7 and demonstrates lxrun at LinuxWorld Expo and Conference in San Jose, CA.<ref>{{cite newsgroup
| title = Linux, Open Source Movements Shift Spotlight Back to UNIX...
| author = Jan Tarzia
| date = 1999-03-03
| newsgroup = comp.unix.sco.announce
| url = http://groups.google.com/group/comp.unix.sco.announce/msg/cfd0513dfd99347a
| accessdate = 2007-11-30
}}</ref>
*May 12, 1999: [[Sun Microsystems]] announces support for Linux binaries on Solaris using lxrun.<ref>{{cite web
|url = http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=99/05/12/2155215
|title = Sun to run unmodified Linux Binaries
|accessdate = 2007-12-01
|date = 1999-05-12
|publisher = [[Slashdot]]
}}</ref>
== Status ==
According to the official lxrun website, as of 2003 lxrun is in "maintenance" mode, meaning that it is no longer being actively developed.<ref name="site">{{cite web
|url = http://www.ugcs.caltech.edu/~steven/lxrun/
|title = LxRun - Linux Emulator
|accessdate = 2023-02-06
|author = Steven Ginzburg
|date = 2003-04-27
|archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20151025205205/http://www.ugcs.caltech.edu/~steven/lxrun/
|archivedate = 2015-10-25
|url-status = dead
}}</ref> Reasons cited for the declining interest in lxrun include the wide availability of real Linux machines, and the availability of more capable emulation systems, such as SCO's Linux Kernel Personality (LKP), [[OpenSolaris]] [[branded zones|BrandZ]], and various [[virtual machine]] solutions.  Newer Linux applications and host operating systems are not officially supported by lxrun.
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==External links==
*{{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151025205205/http://www.ugcs.caltech.edu/~steven/lxrun/ |date=October 25, 2015 |title=Official lxrun Website }}
*{{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110604003434/http://www.sun.com/software/linux/compatibility/lxrun/index.xml |date=June 4, 2011 |title=Sun's lxrun Website }}
*[http://www.cnn.com/TECH/computing/9905/14/lxrun.idg/ Sun's Solaris get compatible with Linux apps] (''[[CNN]]'', Fri 14 May 1999)
*[http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=20060816091242178 Lxrun - why wasn't it released under the GPL?] (Pamela Jones, ''[[Groklaw]]'', Wed 16 Aug 2006)
[[Category:Linux]]
[[Category:UNIX System V]]
[[Category:Compatibility layers]]
[[Category:Sun Microsystems software]]
{{Linux-stub}}