[fbsd_questions] mac and windoze formats - a

[spellberg_robert]

chuck ---

thank you.
your clarity is warmly appreciated.



fyi, would that these --were-- pdfs.
regrettably, these are not computer people;
   they are print_the_magazine_on_paper_and_sell_the_paper people.

the usual approach is to install a binary on the box that, at the least,
   requires the presence of the optical_disc in the drive to operate.

well, that's what happens when one charges money for something that is easily duplicated.
their loss; i didn't include this item in today's order for some single_issues.



ciao.

rob



Chuck Swiger wrote:
> On Dec 8, 2010, at 12:12 PM, spellberg_robert wrote:
> 
>>premise:
>>
>>i was looking at a retail site that is offering
>> a dvd_archive of every issue of a particular magazine back to its beginning, many decades ago
>> [ these have become popular, lately ].
> 
> 
> If the archive contains this magazine in a common format like PDF, you can view such under nearly any platform (including FreeBSD).
> 
> 
>>usually, i put these things on my windoze_box, until it was no longer new enough.
>>then, i looked for linux [ aka, "elf" ] compatability, which also works.
> 
> 
> ELF is a binary file format.  It's used by Linux, FreeBSD, Solaris, and other platforms.
> 
> 
>>research:
>>
>>now, freebsd handles all sorts of elf; but,
>> mac is not elf, it is derived from mach [ a long_unused word from my youth ].
> 
> 
> Yes, MacOS X uses the Mach kernel from CMU, also used by NEXTSTEP.  The binary file format for the Mac is called MachO.
> 
> 
>>so, this question is about "emulation".
>>i found the section in the faq and in the handbook on elf, but,
>> there is no mention of mac, osx, mach or anything else that is not elf, not even wine.
>>i found a recent _questions post that suggested that there is no current ability to run a mach-o binary.  because no one challenged this assertion, i take it as true.
> 
> 
> It is.
> 
> 
>> q:    where do things stand regarding
>>         the future ability to run either a windoze or mac binary
>>         [ as these are the general_public's notion of a "computer" ] ?
> 
> 
> You can use emulation software like VMWare 3 to run a Windows environment under FreeBSD; however, that won't let you run MacOS X or Mac programs.
> 
> Regards,