From: bob@amscons.amscons.com (Bob Amstadt)
Newsgroups: comp.windows.x.i386unix,comp.os.linux.announce
Subject: Wine status Feb. 17, 1994
Date: 18 Feb 1994 17:58:33 +0200
Approved: linux-announce@tc.cornell.edu (Lars Wirzenius)
Message-ID: <2k2oj9$klm@plootu.Helsinki.FI>

***************************************************************
Status Report - February 17, 1994

Work has begun on a related project to allow MS Windows source code
to be compiled on Unix (or clone)/X platforms.  This project will be
capable of running on more than just x86 processor platforms.  Although
it is incomplete, it does currently run on Sun computers.  This project
makes use of much code from the emulation project.  Both projects are
distributed together.

Wine is now supported by Linux, NetBSD and FreeBSD.  Hopefully we
will attract the interest of some of the commercial Unix and clone
vendors.

We have received some new donations of money and equipment.  
We still could use more though.  Our current plans are to use 
monetary donations to buy programming time from student 
programmers.  Work continues at an amazingly rapid rate.  

-Bob Amstadt
bob@amscons.com
(408) 978-5743

***************************************************************
HOW CAN YOU HELP?

	If you are interested in contributing to this project,
join the wine-users mailing list.  You can join by sending the message:

subscribe wine-users

to wine-request@amscons.com.  To send mail to everyone on the list,
send mail to wine-users@amscons.com.  New releases are approximately
every Tuesday.  All releases are announced to the mailing list.

Some brief information files are also available from the mail server.
Send the command "info" to receive a list of files.  The command "help"
can be used to receive useful instructions for the mail server.

Also, I will do my best to answer any question mailed to me.
However, we really need people who can dedicate 10 or more hours
per week.  This project requires people who can learn on there own.  
My address is "bob@amscons.com".  

	If you don't have time to donate, how about money or equipment?
This project has exploded into one of great general interest.  We
have attracted the attention of many individuals and several
prominent organizations.  Monetary contributions will be accepted to 
pay programming interns for their time.  Contributions may be sent to:

	Bob Amstadt
	5059 Wayland Ave.
	San Jose, CA  95118
	USA

***************************************************************
WHO'S WHO

	Thanks to the following people for their generous
contributions of time to this project.

	Martin Ayotte
	Erik Bos
	John Brezak
	Andrew Bulhak
	John Burton
	Peter Galbavy
	Miguel de Icaza
	Alexandre Julliard
	Scott A. Laird
	Peter MacDonald
	David Metcalfe
	John Richardson
	Johannes Ruscheinski
	Yngvi Sigurjonsson
	Linus Torvalds
	Karl Guenter Wuensch
	Eric Youngdale

	Thanks to the following people and organizations for their
generous contributions of money and equipment:

	David L. Harper
	Mark A. Horton
	Syntropy Institute
	James Woulfe

***************************************************************
HISTORY

	The Wine project is an attempt to write something with similar 
functionality to the WABI that was developed by Sun.  The basic goal 
is to be able to take a MS-Windows binary and run it under X-Windows.  
Currently Wine is supported by two operating systems: Linux and NetBSD.
Other operating systems may be supported in the future.  The finished 
product will essentialy consist of two parts:

	a) A program loader, which will load the Windows binary into
the virtual memory of the user process, provide a means for adjusting
the ldt of the processor so that the 16-bit segments that are
typically used with Windows binaries will work correctly, and provide
a means for calling the Windows binary in the first place, allowing
the Windows binary to call back to the 32-bit mode program, and
finally allow the 32-bit mode program to call back again to the
Windows binary (i.e. Windows callbacks).  In each case, the arguments
being passed will have to be pulled from the appropriate stack and
loaded on to the other stack (there will be a 16 bit and a 32 bit
stack).  Finally some application specfic DLL libraries will have to
be loaded, and dynamic linking will have to be performed.

	b) The second part of the finished product is an emulation
library, which takes calls to Windows functions, and somehow
translates these into calls to X11 in one fashion or another, so that
equivalent functionality is achieved.

	It should be pointed out that the Windows binary will be
running directly - there will be no need for machine level emulation
of the instructions.  Sun has reported better performance with their
version of WABI than is actually achieved under MS-Windows -
theoretically the same result is possible under Wine.

	The project got started as a result of discussions on
comp.os.linux in early June of 1993.  A mail channel was set up for
discussions, and this directory was created.  At the moment, all of
the files that are uploaded are in the private directory in a hidden
directory.  The reason for this is that the program is really only of
use to developers right now.  Once something is ready for public
consumption, it will be uploaded to a publicly visible directory.
-- 
Bob Amstadt
bob@amscons.com


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