Is there a possibility and I’m not talking about breaking patents or anything like that, but I’m talking about a possibility technically, to have a Linux OS that can run Windows 11 apps natively?
No bottles or ports, just download an EXE file and run it.
there is a midge of possibility. but not today.
you need some vibe coder to do the clean lab linux versions of all windows libraries.
on a super high view of things, it’s just a language difference.
Thank you I love your reply!
My recommendation is to just run windows if your needs requires .exe. Trying to shoehorn .exe into an OS not designed for your use case will make you hate the OS instead of loving it.
Don’t let some of these fanboys convince you that Wine/bottle is all you need. It’s not. Most apps are well documented. Some are not and you will get frustrated when it’s not.
I’m os agnostic. Run Linux and Windows depending on the situation.
Running Windows apps “natively” is impossible, by definition.
That said, I could imagine a kernel module that ran everything Windows in a microContainer like Kata. More likely would be to have Windows executables intercepted and run under Wine.
It’s an interesting question.
So at the moment Wine seems to be the best possibility to come near to the experience of Windows.
No, such an OS would necessarily not be Linux.
You can have a different OS that can run windows natively–like React OS, but it’s very much not Linux.
Did not know this existed, thank you. This is a very interesting OS, but indeed it is not Linux.
Yeah something like Wine, but running natively in the Linux OS.
I mean, if you have wine installed, exes execute. What exactly are you missing?
Windows is still considered the standard in the world. Most of us know that Linux is the better operating system. What will it take to get people to switch from Windows to Linux?
Windows comes pre-installed.
If every manufactured PC came with Linux, it would take over eventually. Its just a default OS issue, not a usability issue.
@9tr6gyp3 @stat_rosa it’s a predatory marketing issue and consumer capture issue. Notice also you no longer own your windows. It’s just a license. But your Linux, like free speech free like free beer. Since there’s no money in that, no shareholder return to protect, no politicians to be bought, it will always be a back burner reality in the corporate consumerist world.
What will it take to get people to switch from Windows to Linux?
Windows just keeps getting worse and worse. Give it time.
😉
Yeah something like Wine, but running natively in the Linux OS.
I think here’s where you are a bit off in understanding…
Linux is not an OS. It’s a kernel. Long story short, technically “Linux” has no graphic interface, cannot even run commands without a shell attached etc…
Obviously when most people say “linux”, they mean a linux distribution, which is the linux kernel, with a bunch of software bundled and installed on top of it when you install. WINE is no different than “x” or “wayland”. which are by definition, software running on a linux kernel, that is necessary to run a program designed to be graphical.
Apologies, yes I sounded a bit simple, but your explanation is very helpful.
Well that’s what Wine is, it’s native Linux software, so if you’re running something on Wine you’re (technically) running it natively on Linux, it’s a compatibility layer for Windows applications to run on Linux without breaking patents or having need to use Windows code. Of course clearly, as you know, there are shortcomings to Wine but that answers your question of where we are with this.
Yes you are right, I can live with this. But now I wonder if Microsoft would ever consider releasing a Wine competitor of their own, probably of course against a fee.
I mean, they kind of did. It’s called Windows Subsystem for Linux, and it can run Linux programs on Windows, for anyone willing to coax it into working.
It’s not awful, but it cannot even do graphical programs yet. Wine is a decade or two ahead of it.
Edit: I would have bet it was proprietary, but it is MIT License. https://github.com/microsoft/WSL
Yes this is indeed a great step into the right direction. it seems that when I look at all the comments Wine is is indeed the best the option.
I suppose they could, but it would almost definitely be proprietary software and almost definitely include all the anti-features you see in Windows 11 which would defeat the point. If they released it as free software (FOSS) that would be an unqualified win but that’s very unlikely.
Yeah seems unlikely
Maybe you would be interested in ReactOS which is an operating system built from scratch to be compatible with Windows.
As for your question, you could probably make it so that it look like Linux is handling Executable files natively, but behind the scene you can’t get away from having something that convert Windows system calls into Linux system call.
No bottles or ports, just download an EXE file and run it.
Manjaro does it. Imagine this: Distro mainainers came up with idea, that maybe .exe file should be launched via Wine by default. Crazy
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Preinstall wine
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Enable wine as the default app to open exes,.
then, when you double click on an exe you downloaded in your file explorer, it will launch and open.
Many of the user friendly Linux distros do this.
Of course there are caveats, in that if you run an installer, it might not show up in your desktop or so on. And any programs that need admin or have heavy drm also won’t run.
Im addition to that, I dislike the model of downloading exes from the internet. Here is the other comment with my thoughts: https://programming.dev/post/48941029/23338730
Yes, this is interesting. Oh wow love your comment on programming.dev!
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If you would count running a python program as “running natively” if you run the python script through your python interpreter, then I would argue that running an exe file through wine also counts as “running natively”.
Very true.
No. The exe called specific windows apis that don’t exist natively on Linux.
Just like a windows system can’t run a .deb or .rpm application *nix can’t run .exe natively.
Thank you. I already thought this would be the case.
Maybe you are looking for qemu, or the more luxurious Proxmox VE.
It is…
a Linux OS
…and it can…
run Windows 11 apps natively?
…run Windows 11 first and then run Windows 11 apps natively
This is also very interesting, but then I’m running Windows 11 in a container.
No. In a virtual machine. Most parts of Windows and it’s apps won’t ever notice that. More native is not possible
Oh I see. Nice.
I mean… “Linux”, the kernel, has a different API to “Windows”, so by definition, no, those are two different APIs a program would have to call. I suppose it’s probably hypothetically possible to fork the Linux kernel to add support for Windows APIs, but I don’t know why anyone would want to do that when Wine and, failing that, VMs exist.
If you configure Wine to open exes then it is as simple as “just download an exe file and run it”.
Ok, then basically you have to have a lot of ram to make it feel as native possible? Lets take Microsoft office as an example, and I’m running either Debian or Fedora latest version, I need at least 16GB of ram to run it with the feeling that it’s native, just like as if I’m running LibreOffice.
Not sure why windows 11 over 10. Playonlinux did it pretty decently but apparently could not keep up with wine developments and is effectively dead. Steam has this thing where you can install something as a stand alone and choose proton versions. Im honestly not sure how well it would work but it would be realtively easy but not double click any exe easy.
You are right, Windows 10 would als be a great option. I think you are on to something with what Steam is doing.
