BEFN$?FN Wine Ilee`e^N`e[fnjgif^iXdjfeC`elon`k_N`e\ N@E<@DGFIK<I J_XeeXBfiYp#=fkfc`X Users who move from Windows to Linux often miss some of their favorite programs and games. Wouldn’t it be practical to run Windows applications on the free Linux operating system? Time for a little taste of Wine. BY TIM SCHÜRMANN any Linux migrants miss games A short while later, the first version of tor. This also explains the name Wine, and graphics programs such as Wine was released. Today, more than which means Wine Is Not an Emulator. DCorelDRAW or products such 300 volunteer programmers from all over Because of the way Wine works, it as Adobe Photoshop. The only solution the world continue to contribute to the offers a number of advantages. Chiefly, is to install Windows parallel to Linux Wine project. you do not need an expensive Windows – or try Wine, which tricks applications license. Programs will run almost as fast into believing they are running on a N_XkËj`eXEXd\6 as on the Redmond operating system, Windows system. To run Windows programs on Linux, and windows behave as if they belong The history of Wine goes back to the Wine uses a fairly complex trick: It sits to a native Linux program. year 1993. At the time, Sun developed a between the Windows application and An interpreter can only be as good as small tool to run Windows applications Linux like a simultaneous interpreter. If its knowledge of the language, and on its own Solaris operating system – the Windows application says: “Draw a therein lies the problem: Because Micro- without the need for a Windows license button,” Wine passes this command di- soft refused to release details of its oper- or other interaction. This software in- rectly to Linux. In contrast to VirtualBox ating system until just recently, Wine de- spired Bob Amstadt and Eric Youngdale or VMware, Wine does not emulate a velopers were forced to adopt a trial and to develop something similar for Linux. whole PC and is thus not a real emula- error approach. This involved much 46 ISSUE 94 SEPTEMBER 2008 Wine BEFN$?FN AppDB on the left. In the AppDB area, select Browse Apps. Then go through the drop-down list labeled Category until you find the category and application you are inter- ested in and click on Update filter. CorelDRAW and Photoshop are hidden below Multimedia | Graphics | Graphics Editing, for example. Alternatively, you can use the search function on the left to find your applica- tion in the database. If you decide to investi- gate CorelDRAW, you are taken to the page shown in Figure 1, where you will find ratings for differ- ent versions, telling you how well the program =`^li\(1K_\N`e\[XkXYXj\c`jkjeld\ifljXggc`ZXk`fejk_XkilefeN`e\Æ]fi\oXdgc\#k_\:fi\c;I8N fared in tests performed ^iXg_`ZjgXZbX^\% by Wine users. The Plati- num rating is only painstaking work, and considering the Wine can only handle 32-bit Windows awarded if a program runs without multiple gigabyte operating system mon- applications, although support for 64-bit errors and without any impairment to ster they were facing, it was very much software is planned for some time in the functionality on Wine. A couple of older a labor of Sisyphus. On top of this, some future. CorelDRAW versions have made Gold software manufacturers use pretty nasty Wine has another disadvantage: It can status; the current X4 version refuses programming tricks, and to talk these only handle Windows applications; it to cooperate entirely (Garbage). Adobe applications into running on Linux, cannot revitalize hardware with Win- Photoshop CS2 will run more or less Wine needs to know these tricks. Unfor- dows-only driver support. as the makers intended, whereas the tunately, most software vendors keep current CS3 version has reached only this kind of information safely under Gi\gXiXk`fe Bronze status. Things are even worse in lock and key. Before you fire up your package manager the case of Adobe Illustrator. As a rule of Despite years of work, then, Wine is and launch into the Wine install, you still officially under development, and might want to take a look at the appli- most of the work is going into the fields cation database on the Wine homepage of multimedia, video, and 3D graphics. [1]. This database summarizes the level This said, Wine does support DirectX 8 of support for various Windows pro- and 9 quite well by now. The developers grams: whether or not they run on Wine, started work on the tenth incarnation of and if so, how well behaved they are. this critical graphics interface for games To access the database, go to the Wine last year. An additional limitation is that homepage and, in WineHQ Menu, click Installing Wine 1.0 on openSUSE Many of the major distributions continue and click Add. Then, check Community to work with the older Wine versions. Repositories, go to the Next screen, select Kubuntu includes 0.9.59, openSUSE 11.0 openSUSE BuildService – Wine CVS Pack- uses version 0.9.64, and openSUSE 10.3 ages, and click OK. YaST will now parse and 10.2 use versions 0.9.44 and 0.9.24, the package list for the new source. If an respectively. See your distribution's docu- Import Public GnuPG Key window ap- mentation for more installation help. pears, choose Import. If necessary, close To install a brand new version of Wine on the current window (Finish) and you can openSUSE, select Software | Software then go to Software | Software Manage- =`^li\)1K_`jn`e[fnj_fnjpflk_\Zlii\ek Repositories in YaST on openSUSE 11.0, ment to install Wine 1.0. N`e\j\kk`e^j% SEPTEMBER 2008 ISSUE 94 47 BEFN$?FN Wine =`^li\*1K_\`ejkXccXk`fe]`c\]fik_\N`eI8IgXZb\i% =`^li\,1@ejkXcc`e^N`eI8Ifefg\eJLJ<((%'% thumb, the older a program is, the better was a while back, you might want to ex- from a repository. If you prefer to install your chances are of getting it to work. periment yourself. Wine continues to the latest version of Wine, follow the mature, and it is conceivable that your steps in the “Installing Wine 1.0 on 8Ni\eZ_`ek_\Nfibj application has been taken care of. For openSUSE” box. Clicking on a program version tells you this reason, it makes sense to enable the On openSUSE 10.2, 10.3, and 11.0, exactly what the trouble is. A new win- distribution’s automatic updater, which launch YaST and select Software Man- dow appears with details of what does installs any Wine update releases. Fail- agement in the Software dialog. Then, and doesn’t perform as expected. In ad- ing this, you should at least install the type wine in the search box and click dition, user reports at the bottom and latest version of Wine – version 1.0 – Search. In the list of results on the right tips for talking the program into cooper- as described in the box titled “Installing side, check the wine entry, and confirm ating can be very useful. The steps this Wine 1.0 on openSUSE.” your selection by clicking Apply (or requires, some of which are very com- Once you have established that your Accept in openSUSE 11.0). plex, are something you should not choice of Windows application is likely attempt unless you are an experienced to run on Wine, the next thing you need Gi\gXiXk`fej Linux user. In some cases, programs is an installation disc for the Windows Wine does not integrate with the start refuse to work because Internet Explorer application. Although Wine is free of menu on openSUSE. To launch Wine, is missing; for example, Lexware charge, you will need a valid license for press Alt+F2, type winecfg in the text accounting software relies on Internet the Windows application, of course. box, and click – depending on the desk- Explorer for some operations. top you use – Launch or Run. If your application is still listed as bro- @ejkXccXk`fe Winecfg will then go on to create a ken in the database, you should check Wine is either included with all major hidden .wine directory below your home the test date (in Test Results). If the test distributions or you can easily retrieve it directory. The software uses this direc- =`^li\+1Fefg\eJLJ<#k_`jn`e[fnXgg\Xijn_\epfl Zc`ZbfeXN`e[fnjgif^iXd% =`^li\-1K_\N`e[fnjXggc`ZXk`feN`eI8Iilee`e^fefg\eJLJ<% 48 ISSUE 94 SEPTEMBER 2008 Wine BEFN$?FN tory to store the basic configuration, which you can see in Figure 2. Do not modify anything here right now, but click Cancel to close the tool. @ejkXcc`e^XN`e[fnj Gif^iXd To take Wine for a test run, download the WinRAR packer [2], then open your distro’s file manager. In the file manager, look for the installer for the Windows application: It will typically be setup.exe, or autorun.exe. In WinRAR’s case, the name is fairly cryptic: wrar371.exe (Fig- ure 3). Simply click the file with the mouse. On openSUSE, you should now see the window shown in Figure 4. Type =`^li\/1N`e\^`m\jpflX^iXZ\]lcXggifXZ_kfle`ejkXcc`e^N`e[fnjgif^iXdj% wine in the input box, and click OK. Wine takes over in the background Windows program. However, with open- drive letters, so Wine must use a work- and launches the Windows program. SUSE, you will need to search your disk around: Each drive letter maps to a Just follow the normal steps to install for the Windows programs you install.