running Linux at work with Windows apps

[bscott at ntisys.com]

On Mon, 11 Nov 2002, at 5:31pm, sconce at in-spec-inc.com wrote:
> Try to picture:  you typically run Win4Lin as one of your desktops.
> Lightweight.  User mode, where Microsoft stuff belongs.

  Minor correction: Win4Lin (AKA "Merge") is not entirely a user-mode
application.  It requires kernel modifications and modules, and does
significant context-switching magic to make things happen.  A failing
Win4Lin can indeed take down your entire Linux system.  Thankfully, this is
fairly rare (I've only seen it happen once).  Most of the time, one can just
close the crashed Windows session, and then restart.

> Win4Lin was a little more difficult to get working under Debian (since a
> kernel compile was required) than it would be with Red Hat or SuSe.

  Since the NeTraverse kernel patches are GPL, there is nothing keeping the
Debian Project (or someone else) from making a pre-compiled kernel with
those patches already applied available.

> (*) These days I try to call that kind of sofware "Microsoft" or
> "Microsoft-API".

  Just FYI, the best term is probably "Win32".  That is what Microsoft
officially calls it, and what most third-party developers use as well.

-- 
Ben Scott <bscott at ntisys.com>
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