| Linux updates standard, moves to preserve interoperability |
Sep. 14, 2004
The Free Standards Group (FSG) has announced the release of a specification that aims to help keep the Linux operating system from fragmenting and allow applications developed for one version of Linux to work on one another. With the release of the Linux Standards Base 2.0 (LSB 2.0), Linux and commercial companies with an interest in shipping Linux-compatible software have an enhanced standard on which to base their software.
San Francisco-based FSG is looking to ensure interoperability with vendors delivering software that is LSB-compliant. The specification addresses both application software that runs on Linux and the distributions themselves. The group is working with the Open Group, a vendor-neutral consortium which will serve as the certification authority.
Commercial support for the specification was announceed from Dell, HP, Intel, AMD, Novell, IBM, Connectiva, Mandrakesoft, Red Flag, Red Hat, Sun Wah Linux Limited, Thizlinux, and Turbolinux, among others.
The program is organized by FSG, and includes the certification program now available through The Open Group.
Rival OS maker, Microsoft has recently started stressing the differences between Linux and Windows -- most notably in a German advertisement that points out the fragmentation of Linux. Coupled with the tagline "An open operating system has not only advantages," the ad pictures four penguins standing in a row -- all with different faces. In addition to Tux, one penguin has jackrabbit ears, the next has a frog's head, and the last has the ears of a pig and an elephant's trunk.
The full text of the LSB 2.0 specification is available from the FSG website and in a forthcoming IBM Press book, Building Applications with the Linux Standard Base (ISBN 0-13-145695-4), that will be published in November and is written by core members of the Linux Standard Base Team.
Related Stories:
(Click here for further information)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
