Talk:Wine (software)

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WINE Operating Systems

This article needs clarification. I can't tell whether or not there is a version of this for non-Linux OS. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Dullstar (talk • contribs) 17:53, 18 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

It also has a version maintained for os x, and the way it is writen could easily be ported to an unix-like os.--Alex at kms (talk) 06:30, 25 August 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Why PlayOnLinux redirects here?

... —Preceding unsigned comment added by 161.148.37.120 (talk • contribs) 13:41, 26 June 2009

You'll have to provide us with a little more to go on than that. ~~ [ジャム]^[t - c] 13:07, 26 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Windows Mobile?

Does Wine support Windows Mobile applications? --164.67.235.98 (talk) 00:49, 27 September 2009 (UTC)[reply]

No. Currently, only software for desktop versions work. I think a clarification may be needed here. (Stefan2 (talk) 09:55, 20 August 2011 (UTC))[reply]

New wine logo/icon

http://www.airwebreathe.org.uk/wine-icon/

http://www.winehq.org/images/winehq_logo_glass.png —Preceding unsigned comment added by Sav vas (talk • contribs) 20:32, 15 April 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Wine, a recursive acronym for...

Why does this article start with such an awkward sentence? Is it really of such monumental importance to let everybody know what "Wine" stands for? Surely it would be must better just to start the article with "*Wine* is a free software application that aims to allow Unix-like computer operating systems to execute programs written for Microsoft Windows." There is a "Name" section in the article to explain it more fully, after all; alternatively it could be explained in the first paragraph, but I don't see how it adds to that sentence.

The current initial sentence frankly reads as though the phrase about recursive acronyms was put there gratuitously to satisfy some nerd's infatuation with recursive acronyms. 143.167.37.22 (talk) 14:47, 19 April 2010 (UTC)[reply]

I've cut down the lead. Let's see if it's reverted... Alksentrs (talk) 00:51, 20 April 2010 (UTC)[reply]

History of the name?

Apparently WINE not always meant Wine Is Not an Emulator, at one point it was an acronym for WINdows Emulator. See The WINE (WINdows Emulator) FAQ dated 27 November 1998. Anyone know why it was changed? The two even contradict each other. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 83.135.192.59 (talk) 16:27, 7 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

See Talk:Wine (software)/Archive_2#Add_in_history_of_the_name_.22Wine.22.3F. Alksentrs (talk) 17:42, 7 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Wine kind of is an emulator

As mentioned above, Wine was named as an abbreviation for "Windows Emulator," but later the name's meaning was changed. This name change was in made in an attempt to differentiate the function of Wine from other programs that run in virtual machines. But that doesn't necessarily mean that Wine isn't an emulator. In fact, it is an emulator by the definition here on wikipedia. See Emulator. Objectivesea2 (talk) 05:38, 13 June 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Spelling "extant" ?

developers have suggested enhanced tactics such as examining the sources of extant free and open-source software.

"extant" ..? Electron9 (talk) 17:18, 19 June 2011 (UTC)[reply]

From Wiktionary: "Currently existing".

(Tip: Type "wikt:" followed by a word in the Wikipedia search box to look it up in Wiktionary.)

Alksentrs (talk) 18:39, 24 June 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Concerning the citation needed tag

The citation needed tag was removed with the edit summary explained in article body. I'm probably just missing it, but I'm not seeing where it explains that that Wine provides "alternative implementations of the DLLs that Windows programs call." - SudoGhost ™ 19:45, 5 July 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Are you referring to this? Well, yes, the body does explain it indeed. See Architecture section. Fleet Command (talk) 11:48, 6 July 2011 (UTC)[reply]

I'm still not seeing where it says that wine provides alternative implementations of the DLLs that Windows programs call. The only mention of DLLs in that section is at the end, where it discusses Wine's DLLs being used on Windows. - SudoGhost ™ 14:40, 8 July 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Section says: "Wine implements the Windows API entirely in user space". The lead section refers to Windows API as "DLLs that Windows programs call". Seriously, isn't that obvious? Still, maybe you like to see more source. Fleet Command (talk) 16:49, 9 July 2011 (UTC)[reply]

pwd?

Say you have a dual-boot Windows & Linux machine, you launch Linux and want to run this one Windows program, so you use WINE. Which is the working directory then? $HOME (~/.), or wherever your home dir is on the Windows filesystem? For example, running a Windows web browser, will you find your bookmarks and all your settings, or do you have to recreate all in your *nix home dir? Or point to the Windows folder via a soft link?
I searched the article, the talk page and its archives for "filesystem" (and "file system"), and got no hits. --Jerome Potts (talk) 04:00, 24 August 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Maybe some things need to be added to the article.

The current working directory is the directory in which you run the "wine" command (i.e. the same directory as the one returned by the UNIX "pwd" command). If you type "cd /foo/bar; wine someprogram", then the working directory for the program "someprogram" is the directory /foo/bar. This assumes that the directory /foo/bar can be expressed as a Windows-style directory (e.g. Z:\foo\bar; not sure what happens if this isn't possible). Of course, the program "somedirectory" may change the current working directory (I think Wine's start.exe does this).

When you use Wine for the first time, Wine creates a fake C: drive (usually stored as ~/.wine/drive_c). This contains various things which Windows programs expect a C: drive to contain, such as a Windows home directory. All of your settings would have to be set up again in Wine's C: drive.

Other X: drives can be created and be mapped to any directory of your choice. For example, if you wish to install a program, you might need to map the directory of the CD's mount point to e.g. D:. By default, Wine creates a Z: drive which points to the UNIX root (/) so that any file can be accessed by Windows programs.

You can change the directory to which you map your C: drive. If you change your C: drive to the mount point of a real Windows C: drive, it is supposed to break Windows, requiring a re-installation of Windows.

Symlinking to some directories containing settings for other programs might be possible for certain specific programs, but it sounds scary to me.

I'll try finding sources for all of this (should be easy) and see what I can add to the article. (Stefan2 (talk) 14:44, 29 September 2011 (UTC))[reply]

Re: WINE is not an emulator

The language describing WINE has been changed multiple times. I originally changed it to say "WINE is both a compatibility layer and an emulator." I support that claim using the definition of "Emulator":

The definition for "Emulator" here on Wikipedia states that an emulator is "hardware or software or both that duplicates (or emulates) the functions of a first computer system in a different second computer system, so that the behavior of the second system closely resembles the behavior of the first system." By such a definition, WINE is certainly an emulator.

Merriam Webster's definition for emulator: "hardware or software that permits programs written for one computer to be run on another computer." Again, WINE fits the definition.

I have changed the language, hopefully for the final time. It now reads "Wine is a compatibility layer." If anyone wants to add the statement "Wine is not an emulator," they should find supporting sources. It is not sufficient to cite WINE's meaning, nor the fact that WINE differs in function from other emulators. It is still an emulator.

Objectivesea2 (talk) 05:38, 13 June 2011 (UTC)[reply]