4 ms·

Presumably the M1 Linux distro won't have access to the Rosetta translation layer to run X86 programs? Or will that work anyway?

baq 4y ago
In 5 years it might not be that big of a deal
pharmakom 4y ago
Linux app ARM support is generally better since they're open source
- illiarian 4y ago
  Being open source doesn't magically make them better at ARM support. Someone still has to do the work of actually adding ARM support.
  - jandrese 4y ago
    For most applications ARM support should just be a recompile.
  - alophawen 4y ago
    ARM has been a mainstream target for Linux years before Asahi linux. See Raspberry Pi for example.
    - illiarian 4y ago
      I tried to use RaspberryPi last year. Quite a few apps weren't available for it because there are no ARM versions. Can't remember which (calibre was one of them, maybe?), but it was enough for me to reconsider using it
      - sleepycatgirl 4y ago
        IIRC Calibre supports ARM architecture since 6.0 release, which was July 2022
        illiarian 4y ago
        It was probably not available at the time I needed it :)
  - anonymous_sorry 4y ago
    If the source is available, how much work is there to add ARM support, other than compile it for ARM? Some package managers compile from source at install time anyway. I'm sure there are various "I-think-you'll-find-it's-a-bit-more-complicated-than-that"s. I'm interested to learn what they are.
    - ben-schaaf 4y ago
      It depends heavily on the project. Maybe it's using a bespoke/old build system that doesn't support targeting arm, obviously any uses of assembly need translation, bugs/compilation issues regarding signed-ness of char in C/C++, or page size. Those are at least all the issues I've encountered.
      - macintux 4y ago
        When Itanium was new, HP contracted with Progeny Linux to help them port Linux software. Despite the fact that Alpha had paved the way for 64-bit support it was a long effort.
  - diffeomorphism 4y ago
    It practically makes them much better, no magic required. https://wiki.debian.org/Arm64Port https://wiki.debian.org/Arm64Port > 98% of Debian is currently built [for arm64]
swexbe 4y ago
Rosetta binaries for linux are provided by Apple for use in VMs. https://developer.apple.com/documentation/virtualization/running_intel_binaries_in_linux_vms_with_rosetta https://developer.apple.com/documentation/virtualization/run...
qbasic_forever 4y ago
Linux has a similar tech with the combo of binfmt_misc and qemu. It's pretty straightforward to setup and then any architecture can run any other architecture in an emulated manner. My ARM Android phone can actually run x86 (slowly) in its Termux Linux environment for example.
- duffyjp 4y ago
  I tried running a Terraria server on my PowerPC Mac Mini running Void a few years ago with the user mode QEMU trick. I managed to get the server started but it crashed if a client tried to connect.
pantalaimon 4y ago
There is FEX emu which already works for Steam games

baq 4y ago

In 5 years it might not be that big of a deal

pharmakom 4y ago

Linux app ARM support is generally better since they're open source

illiarian 4y ago
Being open source doesn't magically make them better at ARM support. Someone still has to do the work of actually adding ARM support.
- jandrese 4y ago
  For most applications ARM support should just be a recompile.
- alophawen 4y ago
  ARM has been a mainstream target for Linux years before Asahi linux. See Raspberry Pi for example.
  - illiarian 4y ago
    I tried to use RaspberryPi last year. Quite a few apps weren't available for it because there are no ARM versions. Can't remember which (calibre was one of them, maybe?), but it was enough for me to reconsider using it
    - sleepycatgirl 4y ago
      IIRC Calibre supports ARM architecture since 6.0 release, which was July 2022
      - illiarian 4y ago
        It was probably not available at the time I needed it :)
- anonymous_sorry 4y ago
  If the source is available, how much work is there to add ARM support, other than compile it for ARM? Some package managers compile from source at install time anyway. I'm sure there are various "I-think-you'll-find-it's-a-bit-more-complicated-than-that"s. I'm interested to learn what they are.
  - ben-schaaf 4y ago
    It depends heavily on the project. Maybe it's using a bespoke/old build system that doesn't support targeting arm, obviously any uses of assembly need translation, bugs/compilation issues regarding signed-ness of char in C/C++, or page size. Those are at least all the issues I've encountered.
    - macintux 4y ago
      When Itanium was new, HP contracted with Progeny Linux to help them port Linux software. Despite the fact that Alpha had paved the way for 64-bit support it was a long effort.
- diffeomorphism 4y ago
  It practically makes them much better, no magic required. https://wiki.debian.org/Arm64Port https://wiki.debian.org/Arm64Port > 98% of Debian is currently built [for arm64]

swexbe 4y ago

Rosetta binaries for linux are provided by Apple for use in VMs. https://developer.apple.com/documentation/virtualization/running_intel_binaries_in_linux_vms_with_rosetta https://developer.apple.com/documentation/virtualization/run...

qbasic_forever 4y ago

Linux has a similar tech with the combo of binfmt_misc and qemu. It's pretty straightforward to setup and then any architecture can run any other architecture in an emulated manner. My ARM Android phone can actually run x86 (slowly) in its Termux Linux environment for example.

duffyjp 4y ago
I tried running a Terraria server on my PowerPC Mac Mini running Void a few years ago with the user mode QEMU trick. I managed to get the server started but it crashed if a client tried to connect.

pantalaimon 4y ago

There is FEX emu which already works for Steam games