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Microsoft sell Windows partly on the promise of backwards compatibility. A Linux kernel would destroy any real backwards compatibility possibilities, with prej

Microsoft sell Windows partly on the promise of backwards compatibility. A Linux kernel would destroy any real backwards compatibility possibilities, with prejudice. There are 1,000 privately developed and privately run Windows apps for every publicly available application, and those private applications are the backbone of businesses around the world. A Linux kernel would render a VERY large portion of those inoperable, even with WINE. A Windows with a Linux kernel will never replace traditional Windows. Some Microsoft OS may live alongside traditional Windows, at some point however, and it is unlikely to be Linux at all. There are lots of kernel architectures out there besides the ones that Linux and Windows use.

microwavecamera 8y ago
The Windows kernel isn't backwards compatible, just the API's which use compatibility libraries and the HAL to interface with the newer kernel. APIs and kernels are 2 different things. Think about the Linux kernel. How to we "talk" to it? Through libraries like glibc which provides an interface for C to make calls to the kernel. Something like WINE wouldn't be necessary. WINE is an open implementation of the Windows API. The WINE project is essentially reverse engineering the Windows API and mapping to the equivalent Linux syscalls. This wouldn't be an issue for MS. All they would have to do is implement a Windows API compatible equivalent of glibc and obviously wouldn't have licensing issues like the WINE project.
- ngrilly 8y ago
  > Think about the Linux kernel. How to we "talk" to it? Through libraries like glibc which provides an interface for C to make calls to the kernel. No. We "talk" to the kernel through an ABI, not an API. Maintaining ABI compatibility is important because you can move a binary from one kernel version to another without recompiling and relinking your app.

microwavecamera 8y ago

The Windows kernel isn't backwards compatible, just the API's which use compatibility libraries and the HAL to interface with the newer kernel. APIs and kernels are 2 different things. Think about the Linux kernel. How to we "talk" to it? Through libraries like glibc which provides an interface for C to make calls to the kernel. Something like WINE wouldn't be necessary. WINE is an open implementation of the Windows API. The WINE project is essentially reverse engineering the Windows API and mapping to the equivalent Linux syscalls. This wouldn't be an issue for MS. All they would have to do is implement a Windows API compatible equivalent of glibc and obviously wouldn't have licensing issues like the WINE project.

ngrilly 8y ago
> Think about the Linux kernel. How to we "talk" to it? Through libraries like glibc which provides an interface for C to make calls to the kernel. No. We "talk" to the kernel through an ABI, not an API. Maintaining ABI compatibility is important because you can move a binary from one kernel version to another without recompiling and relinking your app.