How much of the Native API can be faked from userspace?

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GJones
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How much of the Native API can be faked from userspace?

Post by GJones »

From what I've heard, Wine doesn't implement much (or perhaps any) of the NT Native API, i.e. Nt/ZwBlahBlahWhatEver functions.

I know Longene (or Linux Unified Kernel, or whatever it's called now) provides some of this stuff, but slapping an implementation of the Windows APIs on top of the Linux kernel as a driver seems utterly insane to me from a security standpoint.

So I wonder, how much of the Native API could be implemented in userspace alone, with wrappers for Linux/UNIX syscalls? Could the API be faked well enough to fool desktop applications that make occasional use of it, without providing complete support for Windows drivers?

Would this be acceptable from a legal viewpoint, in terms of licensing stuff?

... And if Wine developers were considering such an effort, where would be a good place to start if I wanted to help out?
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olivierfrdierick
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Re: How much of the Native API can be faked from userspace?

Post by olivierfrdierick »

From what I've heard, Wine doesn't implement much (or perhaps any) of the NT Native API, i.e. Nt/ZwBlahBlahWhatEver functions.
74% total and 78% ntdll specific implementation is the current estimated state of the Wine API.
how much of the Native API could be implemented in userspace alone, with wrappers for Linux/UNIX syscalls? Could the API be faked well enough to fool desktop applications that make occasional use of it, without providing complete support for Windows drivers?
I think this is exactly what Wine does.
Would this be acceptable from a legal viewpoint, in terms of licensing stuff
Wine code is written by Wine developers. There's no legal issue or licencing involved as no code from other parties is used.
And if Wine developers were considering such an effort, where would be a good place to start if I wanted to help out?
If you want to help Wine development, the Wine Development Links page is a good place to start.

This is an end-user forum to help using Wine, not a developer discussion board.
This is my humble Wine end-user opinion.

Source: WineHQ - Win API Stats, WineHQ - Development Links
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