how to use WINE : http://linuxform.blogspot.com/2011/07/how-to-install-windows-programs-in.html
Wine is a free software application that aims to allow computer programs written for Microsoft Windows to run on Unix-like operating systems. Wine also provides a software library, known as Winelib, against which developers can compile Windows applications to help port them to Unix-like systems.
Wine is not an emulator, but is instead a compatibility layer, providing alternative implementations of the DLLs that Windows programs call and a process to substitute for the Windows NT kernel. Wine is predominantly written using Black-box testing reverse-engineering, to avoid copyright issues.
The name Wine initially was an acronym for WINdows Emulator. Its meaning later shifted to the recursive backronym, Wine Is Not an Emulator.While the name sometimes appears in the forms WINE and wine, the project developers have agreed to standardize on the form Wine.
In a 2007 survey by desktoplinux.com of 38,500 Linux desktop users, 31.5% of respondents reported using Wine to run Windows applications. This plurality was larger than all x86 virtualization programs combined, as well as larger than the 27.8% who reported not running Windows applications.
The project lead is Alexandre Julliard.
History
Bob Amstadt (the initial project leader) and Eric Youngdale started the Wine project in 1993 as a way to run Windows applications on Linux. It was inspired by two Sun Microsystems' products, the Wabi for the Solaris operating system, and the Public Windows Initiative (an attempt to getWindows API fully reimplemented in the public domain as an ISO standard, but rejected by the entity due to pressure from Microsoft in 1996). Wine originally targeted Windows 3.x (16-bit)application software, but as of 2010 focuses on 32-bit and 64-bit applications. The project originated in discussions on Usenet in comp.os.linux in June 1993. Alexandre Julliard has led the project since 1994.
The project has proved time-consuming and difficult for the developers, mostly because of incomplete and incorrect documentation of the Windows API. While Microsoft extensively documents most Win32 functions, some areas such as file formats and protocols have no official Microsoft specification. Microsoft Windows also includes undocumented low-level functions and obscure bugs that Wine must duplicate precisely in order to allow some applications to work properly. Consequently, the Wine team has reverse-engineered many function calls and file formats in such areas as thunking. More recently some developers have suggested enhanced tactics such as examining the sources of extant free and open-source software.
The Wine project originally released Wine under the same MIT License as the X Window System, but owing to concern about proprietary versions of Wine not contributing their changes back to the core project, work as of March 2002 has used the LGPL for its licensing.
Wine officially entered beta with version 0.9 on 25 October 2005. Version 1.0 was released on 17 June 2008, after 15 years of development. Version 1.2 was released on 16 July 2010. Development versions are released roughly every two weeks.
Corporate sponsorship
The main corporate sponsor of Wine is CodeWeavers, which employs Julliard and many other Wine developers to work on Wine and on CrossOver, CodeWeavers' supported version of Wine. Crossover includes some application-specific tweaks not considered suitable for the WineHQ version, as well as some additional proprietary components.
The involvement of Corel for a time assisted the project, chiefly by employing Julliard and others to work on it. Corel had an interest in porting WordPerfect Office, its office suite, to Linux (especiallyCorel Linux). Corel later cancelled all Linux-related projects after Microsoft made major investments in Corel, stopping their Wine effort.
Other corporate sponsors include Google, which hired CodeWeavers to fix Wine so Picasa ran well enough to be ported directly to Linux using the same binary as on Windows; Google later paid for improvements to Wine's support for Adobe Photoshop CS2. Wine is also a regular beneficiary of Google's Summer of Code program.
Architecture
Wine implements the Windows API entirely in user space, rather than as a kernel module. Services normally provided by the kernel in Windows are provided by a daemon known as the wineserver. The wineserver implements basic Windows functionality, as well as integration with the X Window System, and translation of signals into native Windows exceptions.
Although Wine implements some aspects of the Windows kernel, it is not possible to use native Windows drivers with it, due to Wine's underlying architecture. This prevents certain applications from working, such as some copy-protected titles.
Wine is primarily developed for Linux, but the Mac OS X, FreeBSD and Solaris ports are currently (as of January 2009) well-maintained.Wine is also available for OpenBSD and NetBSD through OpenBSD Ports and NetBSD pkgsrc respectively. Since October 2010, Wine also works on the ARMplatform when used as Winelib (which lets developers compile Windows code on Linux using Wine as a library). Some versions of Wine's DLLs are available for Microsoft Windows,[ but Wine does not fully compile or run on Windows yet.
Functionality
As of 2011, Wine runs many software packages with good stability and many others with minor issues. The developers of the Direct3D portions of Wine have continued to implement new features such as pixel shaders to increase game support. Wine can also use native DLLs directly, thus increasing functionality, but then a license for Windows is needed unless the DLLs were distributed with the application itself.
winecfg is a GUI configuration utility included with Wine. Winecfg makes configuring Wine easier by making it unnecessary to edit the registry directly, although, if needed, this can be done with the included registry editor (similar to Windows regedit). Wine also includes its own open-source implementations of several other Windows programs, such as notepad, wordpad, control, iexplore and explorer.
AppDB is a community-maintained database of which Windows applications work, and how well they work, with Wine.
Backward compatibility
Wine ensures good backward compatibility with legacy Windows applications, including those written for Windows 3.1. Wine can mimic different Windows versions required for some programs, going as far back as Windows version 2.0.
Backward compatibility in Wine is superior to that of Windows, as newer versions of Windows can force users to upgrade legacy Windows applications. In many cases, Wine can offer better legacy support than newer versions of Windows with "Compatibility Mode".
Wine can run 16-bit Windows programs on a 64-bit operating system, which uses an x86-64 (64-bit) CPU (example screenshot on the left). 64-bit versions of Microsoft Windows will not run 16-bit Windows programs.
Wine partially supports Windows console applications, and the user can choose which backend to use to manage the console (choices include raw streams, curses, and user32). When using the raw streams or curses backends, Windows applications will run in a Unix terminal.
64-bit applications
Preliminary support for 64-bit Windows applications was added to Wine 1.1.10, in December 2008. This currently requires at least gcc version 4.4, and the Wine developers expect that it will take significant time before support stabilizes. However, as almost all Windows applications are currently available in 32-bit versions, and the 32-bit version of Wine can run on 64-bit platforms, this is seen as a non-issue.
The 64-bit port of Wine also has preliminary WoW64 support (as of April 2010), which allows both 32-bit and 64-bit Windows applications to run inside the same Wine instance.
Third-party applications
Some applications require more tweaking than simply installing the application in order to work properly, such as manually configuring Wine to use certain Windows DLLs. The Wine project does not integrate such workarounds into the Wine codebase, instead preferring to focus solely on improving Wine's implementation of the Windows API. While this approach focuses Wine development on long-term compatibility, it makes it difficult for users to run applications that require workarounds. Consequently, many third party applications have been created to ease the use of those applications that don't workout of the box within Wine itself. The Wine wiki maintains a page of current and obsolete third party applications.
CrossOver, proprietary software
Bordeaux is a proprietary Wine GUI configuration manager that runs winelib applications. It also supports installation of third party utilities, installation of applications and games, and the ability to use custom configurations. Bordeaux currently runs on Linux, FreeBSD, PC-BSD, Solaris, OpenSolaris,OpenIndiana and Mac OS X computers.
Winetricks is a script to install some basic components (typically Microsoft DLLs and fonts) required for some applications to run correctly under Wine. The Wine project will accept bug reports for users of Winetricks, unlike most third-party applications. It is maintained by Wine developer Dan Kegel.
Wine-Doors is an application-management tool for the GNOME desktop which adds functionality to Wine. Wine-Doors is an alternative to WineTools which aims to improve upon WineTools' features and extend on the original idea with a more modern design approach.
IEs4Linux is a utility to install all versions of Internet Explorer, including versions 4 to 6 and version 7 (in beta).
PlayOnLinux is an application to ease the installation of Windows applications (primarily games)
Wineskin is a utility to manage Wine engine versions and create wrappers for Mac OSX.
Other versions of Wine
The core Wine development aims at a correct implementation of the Windows API as a whole and has sometimes lagged in some areas of compatibility with certain applications. Direct3D, for example, remained unimplemented until 1998,[41] although newer releases have had an increasingly complete implementation.
CodeWeavers markets CrossOver specifically for running Microsoft Office and other major Windows applications including some games. CodeWeavers employs Alexandre Julliard to work on Wine and contributes most of its code to the Wine project under the LGPL. CodeWeavers also released a new version called Crossover Mac for Intel-based Apple Macintosh computers on 10 January 2007.
CodeWeavers has also recently released CrossOver Games, which is optimized for running Windows computer games. Unlike CrossOver, it doesn't focus on providing the most stable version of Wine. Instead, experimental features are provided to support newer games.
TransGaming Technologies produced the proprietary Cedega software. Formerly known as WineX, Cedega represented a fork from the last MIT-licensed version of Wine in 2002. Much like Crossover Games, TransGaming's Cedega was targeted towards running Windows computer games. On 7 January 2011, TransGaming Technologies announced continued development of Cedega Technology under the GameTree Developer Program. Members can keep using their Cedega ID and password until 28 February 2011.
TransGaming has also produced Cider, a library for Apple–Intel architecture Macintoshes. Instead of being an end-user product, Cider (like Winelib) is a wrapper allowing developers to adapt their games to run natively on Intel Mac OS X without any changes in source code.
The Russian company Etersoft has been developing a proprietary version of Wine since 2006. WINE@Etersoft supports popular Russian applications for business, accounting, trade etc. (for example,1C:Enterprise by 1C Company). In 2010, Etersoft is going to issue WINE@Etersoft CAD which is oriented towards CAD systems such as AutoCAD, Bricscad and Compass-3D (a popular Russian CAD-system).
Other projects using Wine source code include:
ReactOS, a project to write an operating system compatible with Windows NT down to the device driver level. ReactOS uses Wine source code considerably, but because of architectural differences, ReactOS code (such as dlls written specifically for it, e.g. ntdll, user32, kernel32, gdi32, and advapi) is not generally reused in Wine. In July 2009, Alex Bragin, the ReactOS project lead, started a new ReactOS branch called Arwinss, and it was officially announced in January 2010. Arwinss is an alternative implementation of the core Win32 components, and uses mostly unchanged versions of Wine's user32.dll and gdi32.dll.
Linux Unified Kernel, a project intended to be binary-compatible with application software and device drivers made for Microsoft Windows and Linux. This kernel imports all the key features of the Windows operating system kernel into the Linux kernel to support both Linux and Windows applications and device drivers.
Darwine, a port of the Wine libraries to Darwin and Mac OS X. Kronenberg.org stated "As some might have read on Wine-Devel, Darwine is dead for good. The OS X port of Wine formerly known as Darwine is now Wine." Kronenberg continues work on an Intel Mac version called Winebottler
Wineskin, an open source Wine GUI configuration manager for Mac OS X. Wineskin creates a wrapper around Wine in the form of a normal Mac Application. The wrapper can also be used to make a distributable “port” of software.
Odin, a project to run Win32 binaries on OS/2 or convert them to OS/2 native format. The project also provides the Odin32 API to compile Win32 programs for OS/2.
E/OS, a project attempting to allow any program designed for any operating system to be run without the need to actually install any other operating system.
Rewind, a defunct MIT-licensed fork of the last MIT-licensed version of Wine.
Parallels Desktop 3 for Mac, a proprietary product that uses some Wine code for its DirectX handling.
VirtualBox v3.x, an Open-Source product that uses some Wine code for its Direct3D handling.
Criticism
The Wine project has received a number of technical and philosophical complaints and concerns over the years.
Security
Because of Wine's ability to run Windows binary code, concerns have been raised over native Windows viruses and malware affecting Unix-like operating systems. Wine can run much malware, but programs running in Wine are confined to the current user's privileges, restricting some undesirable consequences. This is one reason Wine should never be run as the superuser. Malware research software such as ZeroWine runs Wine on Linux in a virtual machine, to keep the malware completely isolated from the host system.
Wine vs. native Unix applications
A common concern about Wine is that its existence means that vendors are less likely to write native Linux, Mac OS X and BSD applications. As an example of this, it is worth considering IBM's 1994 operating system, OS/2 Warp. An article describes the weaknesses of OS/2 which killed it, the first one being:
“ OS/2 offered excellent compatibility with DOS and Windows 3.1 applications. No, this is not an error. Many application vendors argued that by developing a DOS or Windows app, they would reach the OS/2 market in addition to DOS/Windows markets and they didn't develop native OS/2 applications.
”
The Wine project itself responds to these complaints on one of its Wiki pages:
“ For most people there remain a handful of programs locking them in to Windows. It's obvious there will never be a Microsoft Office ported to Linux, however older versions of programs like TurboTax won't be ported either. Similarly, there are tens of thousands of games and internal corporate applications which will never be ported. If you want to use Linux and rely on any legacy Windows application, something like Wine is essential... Wine makes Linux more useful and allows for millions of users to switch who couldn't otherwise. This greatly raises Linux marketshare, drawing more commercial and community developers to Linux. ”
The use of Wine for gaming has proved specifically controversial in the Linux community, as some feel it is preventing, or at least hindering, the further growth of native gaming on the platform.
Microsoft and Wine
Microsoft has generally not made public statements about Wine. However, the Microsoft Update software will block updates to Microsoft applications running in Wine. On 16 February 2005, Ivan Leo Puoti discovered that Microsoft had started checking the Windows registry for the Wine configuration key and would block the Windows Update for any component. Puoti wrote, "It's ... the first time Microsoft has acknowledged the existence of Wine."[
The Windows Genuine Advantage (WGA) system also checks for existence of Wine registry keys. The WGA FAQ states that WGA will not run in Wine by design, as Wine does not constitute "genuine Windows".When WGA validation detects Wine running on the system, it will notify users that they are running non-genuine Windows and disallow genuine Windows downloads for that system. Despite this, some reports have circulated of the WGA system working in Wine, although this loophole has now been closed with the next WGA component update. In the case of Internet Explorer 7, Microsoft has since removed the WGA requirements.
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