Quote:
Originally Posted by Carpetsmoker
slightly off-topic, but can't OpenBSD run FreeBSD binaries?
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Theoretically speaking yes
Code:
$ more sysctl.conf | grep kern.emul.freebsd
#kern.emul.freebsd=1 # enable running FreeBSD binaries
but in practical terms the answer is no. In order to run FreeBSD binaries
on OpenBSD one needs FreeBSD libraries from ports. This is the comment
about freebsd_lib
Quote:
These libraries are part of the FreeBSD compatibility options
for OpenBSD. These libraries provide support for binaries built
on FreeBSD 2.2.x, 3.x and 4.x systems.
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Obviously, FreeBSD is long way from 4.x. I think that the FreeBSD compatibility layer is more of legacy which was very important in late nineties when there was very little third party software ported to OpenBSD. I personally do not know of anybody who is running FreeBSD binaries on OpenBSD.
Linux compatibility layer might have very soon the similar faith. As more and more software is ported to OpenBSD and as the Linux is moving completely towards 2.6 kernel and ALSA there is little interest among developers to catch up with those changes. Linux compatibility layer was important because of Flash for instance but as Flash 9 for Linux requires ALSA there is no real interest in keeping compatibility alive.
Linux-Opera 9.6 is ported thanks to the efforts of Nikolay but I am not sure how long will that last. The major kernel work will be needed to make Linux binaries compiled on 2.6 kernel run on OpenBSD. As you saw from couple comments most OpenBSD users share my sentiment when it comes to turning on existing Linux compatibility layer (It is off by default and that how it should stay:-) )
Personally, I would really like to see Midori stable and Dillo2 taking off.
Dillo2 with working OpenSSL and possibly JS engine would be an ideal browser for people who use OpenBSD on their desktops.