Emulating Other Operating Systems in Linux: An Overview

Essentially, there are two methods to accomplish the task of running applications across platforms. In the first method, an emulator "translates" an application's calls to one operating system (such as Windows) to another (Linux). In the second method, an application builds a "virtual machine" that creates a second computer inside your computer. The virtual machine then hosts a file system and operating system just as any physical computer does.

In this section, you will learn about three emulators (Wine, DOSBox, and Basilisk II) and two virtual machines (VMware and Win4Lin).

A Few Misconceptions About Cross-Platform Tools

Nothing's perfect, and it's very hard to reach seamless cross-platform computing nirvana. Before looking closely at each of these tools, you should know a few things that may diminish your excitement at this newfound capability.

• Whatever tool you run from Linux, you won't run your existing Windows applications from the Windows side of your computer. You will install a new instance of the application and will probably have to re-create your settings from scratch.

• You cannot automatically use the same data (such as your Eudora mail queue) for both the Windows side and the Linux side. In many applications, you can import data from one side to the other, but changes made in one copy will not be reflected in the other copy.

• Don't install an emulator or virtual machine to run an application you don't have. All these products will let you "run Word on Linux," but you will need your own copy of Word to install and run. If all you need is a Linux application that will let you open and edit Word documents, use OpenOffice or another of the Linux office suites.