Questions tagged [compatibility]

Use this tag to know if a software can run satisfactorily on a given environment setup or computer.

100 questions
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What does it mean to be "sh compatible"?

I've seen the phrase "sh compatible" used usually in reference to shells. I'm not sure if it also applies to the programs that might be run from within shells. What does it mean for a shell or other program to be "sh compatible"? What would it mean…
Praxeolitic
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Will a Linux executable compiled on one "flavor" of Linux run on a different one?

Will the executable of a small, extremely simple program, such as the one shown below, that is compiled on one flavor of Linux run on a different flavor? Or would it need to be recompiled? Does machine architecture matter in a case such as this? int…
JCDeen
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Universal Node.js shebang?

Node.js is very popular these days and I've been writing some scripts on it. Unfortunately, compatibility is a problem. Officially, the Node.js interpreter is supposed to be called node, but Debian and Ubuntu ship an executable called nodejs…
42
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4 answers

What makes OSX programs not runnable on Linux?

I know there are many differences between OSX and Linux, but what makes them so totally different, that makes them fundamentally incompatible?
Falmarri
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Which laptop is most compatible with Linux?

I've always been unlucky with regards to choosing a laptop that I can install Linux on. If it's not the wireless card that's not working out of the box, it's the video card. Also, I'm still not able to hibernate my computer, close the lid and resume…
Louis Salin
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Where is "export var=value" not available?

I have picked up -- probably on Usenet in the mid-1990s (!) -- that the construct export var=value is a Bashism, and that the portable expression is var=value export var I have been advocating this for years, but recently, somebody challenged me…
tripleee
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Oldest binary working on Linux?

In a discussion on backwards-compatibility in Linux kernel and GUI ABIs, Alan Cox notes that "my 3.6rc kernel will still run a Rogue binary built in 1992. X is back compatible to apps far older than Linux." So just how backwards-compatible are the…
nealmcb
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3 answers

Can new glibc versions be used with an old kernel?

Apparently glibc can be compiled with --enable-kernel to support older kernel versions. However, I haven't been able to find information on what kernel versions are supported on a particular glibc version. Ideally, I want to see a compatibility…
netvope
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Are dash, ash and sh script 100% compatible?

I wanted to know whether scripts written for dash, ash, and sh are 100% compatible? Are there any added features to dash or ash, or syntax change? From what I heard, ash is a direct descendant of sh.
user1115057
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Is cygwin like wine, but for linux applications?

Does cygwin work line wine, providing a compatibility layer inside a foreign os?
richzilla
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When does `ls -s` print "0"

Of course, the standard way of testing if a file is empty is with test -s FILE, but one of our clients have received a script containing tests like this: RETVAL=`ls -s ./log/cr_trig.log | awk '{print $1}'` if test $RETVAL -ne 0 then echo…
MattBianco
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python == python2 OR python == python3 ? How to package, distribute python py2k scripts?

Depending on system, python==python2 or python==python3. Executable Python scripts, starts with: #!/usr/bin/env python #!/usr/bin/env python2 #!/usr/bin/env python3... For python py3k it is provided in documentation I should/can use it with version…
Grzegorz Wierzowiecki
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Is there something like wine to run OSX apps on linux?

This question answers why Linux can't run OSX apps, but is there some application similar to Wine that allows one to do so?
Tobias Kienzler
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Should the use of /etc/mtab now be considered deprecated?

I'm curious about the file or symlink /etc/mtab. I believe this is a legacy mechanism. On every modern linux I've used this is a symbolic link to /proc/mounts and if mtab were to be a regular file on a "normal" file system /etc there would be…
Philip Couling
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Is Ubuntu LTS binary compatible with Debian?

RedHat and CentOS are binary compatible. So everything that works on the one will most probably work on the other (same RPMs, same libs, same versions, same dependencies)... Does the same hold true when comparing Ubuntu LTS with Debian? When trying…
Nils
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