Difference between revisions of "Compatibility layers"

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While not strictly emulation ''per se'' (hence why [[Wine]] stands for "Wine Is Not an Emulator"), '''compatibility layers''' allow software written for one operating system to run on a different OS, often by translating API and system calls made by an application to their equivalent calls in the host operating system. In theory, this should allow for near-native performance since no processor emulation takes place, but in practice some software such as games will tend to run a bit slower due to other bottlenecks that occur as a result of [[Emulation Accuracy|replicating the correct behavior]], such as accounting for graphics APIs like Direct3D that aren't supported on non-Microsoft platforms. Additionally, compatibility layers may also use emulation in order to run software built for a different architecture.
+
While not strictly emulation ''per se'' (hence why [[Wine]] stands for "Wine Is Not an Emulator"), '''compatibility layers''' allow software written for one operating system to run on a different OS, often by translating API and system calls made by an application to their equivalent calls in the host operating system. In theory, this should allow for near-native performance since no processor emulation takes place, but in practice some software such as games will tend to run a bit slower due to other bottlenecks that occur as a result of [[Emulation accuracy|replicating the correct behavior]], such as accounting for graphics APIs like Direct3D that aren't supported on non-Microsoft platforms. Additionally, compatibility layers may also use emulation in order to run software built for a different architecture, see [[Emulation Accuracy]] page for more information about terms like "[[Hypervisors|hypervisors]]", "[[Simulators|simulators]]", "[[Compatibility_layers|compatibility layers]]", "[[Wrappers|wrappers]]", "[[FPGA|FPGA-based hardware cloning]]" and "[[:Category:Emulators|software emulators]]".
  
 
==Compatibility layers==
 
==Compatibility layers==
 
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
 
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
−
|-
 
 
! scope="col"|Name
 
! scope="col"|Name
 
! scope="col"|Operating System(s)
 
! scope="col"|Operating System(s)
Line 9: Line 8:
 
! scope="col"|<abbr title="Free/Libre and Open-Source Software">FLOSS</abbr>
 
! scope="col"|<abbr title="Free/Libre and Open-Source Software">FLOSS</abbr>
 
! scope="col"|Active
 
! scope="col"|Active
−
! scope="col"|[[Recommended Emulators|Recommended]]
+
! scope="col"|[[Recommended emulators|Recommended]]
 
! scope="col"|Runs the following software
 
! scope="col"|Runs the following software
 
|-
 
|-
Line 15: Line 14:
 
|-
 
|-
 
|[[Wine]]
 
|[[Wine]]
−
|align=left|{{Icon|Linux|macOS|FreeBSD}}
+
|align=left|{{Icon|Linux|macOS|FreeBSD|Haiku}}
−
|[https://wiki.winehq.org/Download {{WineVer}} <br />(Dev: {{WineDevVer}})]
+
|[https://wiki.winehq.org/Download {{WineVer}}<br />(Dev: {{WineDevVer}})]<br />[https://wiki.winehq.org/Haiku Haiku]
 
|{{✓}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}}
 
|{{✓}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}}
 
|Windows applications and games
 
|Windows applications and games
 
|-
 
|-
−
|[[Proton]]
+
|[[Proton]]<br/><small>(included with Steam)</small>
 
|align=left|{{Icon|Linux}}
 
|align=left|{{Icon|Linux}}
−
|[https://store.steampowered.com/about/ {{ProtonVer}}]
+
|[https://store.steampowered.com/about/ {{ProtonVer}}]<br/>[https://github.com/ValveSoftware/Proton/tags git]
 
|{{✓}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}}
 
|{{✓}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}}
 
|Windows games
 
|Windows games
Line 28: Line 27:
 
|[[TeknoParrot]]
 
|[[TeknoParrot]]
 
|align=left|{{Icon|Windows}}
 
|align=left|{{Icon|Windows}}
−
|[https://teknoparrot.com/download {{TeknoVer}}]
+
|<abbr title="TPBootstrapper/Web Installer which downloads the latest versions of all components with TeknoParrot automatically for you.">[https://github.com/nzgamer41/TPBootstrapper/tags TPBootstrapper]</abbr><br/>[https://teknoparrot.com/download {{TeknoVer}}]
 
|{{✗}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}}
 
|{{✗}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}}
 
|PC-based arcade games
 
|PC-based arcade games
 +
|-
 +
|Rosetta
 +
|align=left|{{Icon|macOS}}
 +
|N/A
 +
|{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✓}}
 +
|PowerPC OS X apps on x86-64 based Macs. Support ended with OS X 10.7
 
|-
 
|-
 
|CrossOver
 
|CrossOver
 
|align=left|{{Icon|Linux|macOS|ChromeOS}}
 
|align=left|{{Icon|Linux|macOS|ChromeOS}}
−
|[https://www.codeweavers.com/products 20.0.0]
+
|[https://www.codeweavers.com/products 22.1]
 
|{{✗}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}}
 
|{{✗}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}}
 
|Windows applications and games
 
|Windows applications and games
 
|-
 
|-
−
|[[Anbox]]
+
|[https://mcpelauncher.readthedocs.io Minecraft Bedrock Launcher]
 +
|align=left|{{Icon|Linux|macOS}}
 +
|[https://github.com/minecraft-linux/mcpelauncher-manifest v0.10.0]
 +
|{{✓}} ||{{✓}} ||{{~}}
 +
|Minecraft: Bedrock Edition (Android version)
 +
|-
 +
|Linuxulator
 +
|align=left|{{Icon|FreeBSD}}
 +
|[https://wiki.freebsd.org/Linuxulator Wiki]<br />[https://docs.freebsd.org/en/books/handbook/linuxemu/ Docs]
 +
|{{✓}} ||{{✓}} ||{{~}}
 +
|Linux software
 +
|-
 +
|libhoudini<br/>[https://groups.google.com/g/android-ndk-announce libndk]<br/>[https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/developer/topic-technology/bridge-technology.html Intel BT]
 +
|align=left|{{Icon|Android}}
 +
|[https://github.com/SGNight/Arm-NativeBridge#download-links-- 1], [https://github.com/Rprop/libhoudini#libhoudini 2], [https://archive.org/details/androidx86-houdini 3], [https://github.com/supremegamers/vendor_intel_proprietary_houdini 4], [https://github.com/m9rco/Genymotion_ARM_Translation 5], [https://github.com/ilhan-athn7/android_proprietary_native_bridge 6], [https://github.com/supremegamers/vendor_google_proprietary_ndk_translation-prebuilt 7]
 +
|{{✗}} ||{{TBD}} ||{{~}}
 +
|ARM apps
 +
|-
 +
|[https://www.gfdgdxi.top/uengine-runner/Help/ UEngine]
 
|align=left|{{Icon|Linux}}
 
|align=left|{{Icon|Linux}}
−
|[https://docs.anbox.io/userguide/install.html git]
+
|[https://github.com/gfdgd-xi/uengine-runner git]
−
|{{✓}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✗}}
+
|{{~}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✗}}
 
|Android software
 
|Android software
 
|-
 
|-
Line 49: Line 72:
 
|{{✓}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✗}} <small>(WIP)</small>
 
|{{✓}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✗}} <small>(WIP)</small>
 
|macOS software
 
|macOS software
 +
|-
 +
|[https://www.linzhuotech.com/index.php/home/index/xdroid.html xDroid]
 +
|align=left|{{Icon|Linux}}
 +
|[https://www.linzhuotech.com/Product/download 11.1.51]
 +
|{{✗}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✗}}
 +
|Android software
 
|-
 
|-
 
|[[WineVDM]]
 
|[[WineVDM]]
 
|align=left|{{Icon|Windows}}
 
|align=left|{{Icon|Windows}}
 
|[https://github.com/otya128/winevdm/releases git]<br />[https://ci.appveyor.com/project/otya128/winevdm/ Dev]
 
|[https://github.com/otya128/winevdm/releases git]<br />[https://ci.appveyor.com/project/otya128/winevdm/ Dev]
−
|{{✓}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✗}}
+
|{{✓}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}}
 
|16-bit Windows apps and games
 
|16-bit Windows apps and games
 
|-
 
|-
Line 70: Line 99:
 
|[[WoW]]
 
|[[WoW]]
 
|align=left|{{Icon|Windows}}
 
|align=left|{{Icon|Windows}}
−
|?
+
|N/A
 
|{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}}
 
|{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}}
 
|Windows 9x apps and games
 
|Windows 9x apps and games
Line 76: Line 105:
 
|[[Win3mu]]
 
|[[Win3mu]]
 
|align=left|{{Icon|Windows}}
 
|align=left|{{Icon|Windows}}
−
|?
+
|[http://bitbucket.org/toptensoftware/win3mu Source]
 
|{{✓}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}}
 
|{{✓}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}}
 
|Windows 3.x apps and games
 
|Windows 3.x apps and games
 
|-
 
|-
 
|[[NTVDMx64]]
 
|[[NTVDMx64]]
−
|align=left|
+
|align=left|{{Icon|Windows}}
−
{{Icon|Windows]]}}
+
|[https://github.com/leecher1337/ntvdmx64 git]
−
|?
+
|{{✓}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✗}}
−
|{{✓}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}}
 
 
|DOS applications and games
 
|DOS applications and games
 
|-
 
|-
Line 104: Line 132:
 
|{{✓}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✗}}
 
|{{✓}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✗}}
 
|DOS software
 
|DOS software
 +
|-
 +
|[https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/wsl/ Windows Subsystem for Linux '''1''']
 +
|align=left|{{Icon|Windows}}
 +
|[https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/wsl/install Install guide]
 +
|{{?}} ||{{?}} ||{{✗}}
 +
|Allows developers to run a Linux environment.
 +
|-
 +
|[https://old.reddit.com/r/openKylin/comments/14u5kad/about_kmre/ KMRE]
 +
|align=left|{{Icon|Linux}}
 +
|[https://archive.ubuntukylin.com/ubuntukylin/pool/partner/kmre_2.4.6.8+22.04_amd64.deb 2.4.6.8]</br>[https://archive.kylinos.cn/kylin/KYLIN-ALL/pool/universe/k/kmre/kmre_2.4.8.7-0k0.9_amd64.deb 2.4.8.7-0k0.9]<ref group=A name=kmrex86>2.4.8.7 is untested-NeoKylin never announced nor shipped this with x86 releases</ref>
 +
|{{?}} ||{{~}} ||{{✗}}
 +
|Allows openKylin/Ubuntu Kylin to run Android applications.
 
|-
 
|-
 
!colspan="7"|Mobile / ARM
 
!colspan="7"|Mobile / ARM
 +
|-
 +
|Rosetta 2
 +
|align=left|{{Icon|macOS}}
 +
|N/A
 +
|{{✗}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}}
 +
|x86-64 macOS applications on Apple Silicon Macs
 +
|-
 +
|CrossOver
 +
|align=left|{{Icon|macOS}}
 +
|[https://www.codeweavers.com/products 22.1]
 +
|{{✗}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}}
 +
|Windows applications and games
 +
|-
 +
|Game Porting Toolkit
 +
|align=left|{{Icon|macOS}}
 +
|[https://gist.github.com/Frityet/448a945690bd7c8cff5fef49daae858e Installation guide]
 +
|{{✗}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}}
 +
|Windows games
 +
|-
 +
|[https://box86.org/ Box86/Box64]
 +
|align=left|{{Icon|LiA|Android|Pandora}}
 +
|[https://github.com/ptitSeb/box86 git-86]/[https://github.com/ptitSeb/box64/ git-64]
 +
|{{✓}} ||{{✓}} ||{{~}}
 +
|x86-64 Linux programs
 +
|-
 +
|[[FEX-Emu]]
 +
|align=left|{{Icon|LinuxARM|Android}}
 +
|[https://github.com/FEX-Emu/FEX git]
 +
|{{✓}} ||{{✓}} ||{{~}}
 +
|x86-64 Linux programs
 
|-
 
|-
 
|[[Wine]]
 
|[[Wine]]
−
|align=left|{{Icon|Android}}
+
|align=left|{{Icon|LinuxARM|Android}}
−
|[https://wiki.winehq.org/Download {{WineDevVer}}]
+
|[https://dl.winehq.org/wine-builds/android/ Android builds]<br/>[https://wiki.winehq.org/ARM ARM support]
−
|{{✓}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✗}} <small>(WIP)</small>
+
|{{✓}} ||{{✓}} ||{{~}}
 
|Windows applications and games
 
|Windows applications and games
 +
|-
 +
|[https://github.com/xerpi/vita2hos Vita2hos]
 +
|align=left|{{Icon|Switch}}
 +
|[https://github.com/xerpi/vita2hos/releases/tag/alpha-0.3 Alpha 0.3]
 +
|{{✓}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✗}}
 +
|runs PlayStation Vita applications natively
 
|-
 
|-
 
|[https://github.com/AndreRH/hangover Hangover]
 
|[https://github.com/AndreRH/hangover Hangover]
−
|align=left|{{Icon|Android|LinuxARM}}
+
|align=left|{{Icon||LinuxARM|Android}}
 
|[https://github.com/AndreRH/hangover/releases git]
 
|[https://github.com/AndreRH/hangover/releases git]
 
|{{✓}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✗}}
 
|{{✓}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✗}}
 
|Windows applications and games
 
|Windows applications and games
 
|-
 
|-
−
|[[Anbox]]
+
|[[Skyline]]
 +
|align=left|{{Icon|Android}}
 +
|[https://github.com/skyline-emu/skyline/releases git]
 +
|{{✓}}
 +
|{{✗}}
 +
|{{✗}}
 +
|Nintendo Switch games and homebrew
 +
|-
 +
|[https://www.hikunpeng.com/document/detail/en/kunpengdevps/ug-exagear/usermanual/kunpengexagear_06_0002.html ExaGear-KunPeng]
 +
|align=left|{{Icon|LinuxARM}}
 +
|[https://www.hikunpeng.com/developer/devkit/exagear 3.0.0.1]
 +
|{{✗}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✗}}
 +
|x86 Linux programs<abbr title="into Kunpeng platform instructions in real time">*</abbr>
 +
|-
 +
|[https://old.reddit.com/r/openKylin/comments/14u5kad/about_kmre/ KMRE]
 
|align=left|{{Icon|LinuxARM}}
 
|align=left|{{Icon|LinuxARM}}
−
|[https://docs.anbox.io/userguide/install.html git]
+
|[https://archive.kylinos.cn/kylin/KYLIN-ALL/pool/universe/k/kmre/kmre_2.4.8.7-0k0.9_arm64.deb 2.4.8.7-0k0.9]</br>[https://archive.kylinos.cn/kylin/KYLIN-ALL/pool/universe/k/kmre/kmre_2.5.0.2-0k0.1tablet3_arm64.deb 2.5.0.2-0k0.1tablet3]<ref group=A name=kmrearm>2.5.0.2 is only for some industrial tablets or similar devices with Phytium processors. Regular desktop devices should continue with 2.4.8.7 .</ref>
−
|{{✓}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✗}}
+
|{{?}} ||{{~}} ||{{✗}}
−
|Android software
+
|Allows openKylin/NeoKylin (with supported processors) to run Android applications.
 
|-
 
|-
−
!colspan="9"|Console
+
!colspan="9"|Consoles
 
|-
 
|-
 
|[[Nintendont]]
 
|[[Nintendont]]
 
|align=left|{{Icon|Wii|WiiU}}
 
|align=left|{{Icon|Wii|WiiU}}
−
|[https://github.com/FIX94/Nintendont 2021-07-12]
+
|[https://github.com/FIX94/Nintendont git]
 
|{{✓}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}}
 
|{{✓}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}}
 
|GameCube games
 
|GameCube games
 +
|-
 +
!colspan="7"|Misc
 +
|-
 +
|LATX
 +
|align=left|{{Icon|Linux}}
 +
|[http://pkg.loongnix.cn/loongnix/pool/main/l/lat/ 1.4.3 Beta 2]
 +
|{{✗}} ||{{✓}} ||{{TBD}}
 +
|x86 Linux programs<abbr title="into LoongArch64 instruction set">*</abbr>
 
|}
 
|}
−
 
+
<references group=A />
 
===Comparisons===
 
===Comparisons===
 
*[[Wine]] is a free and open-source compatibility layer that aims to allow computer programs (application software and computer games) developed for Microsoft Windows to run on Unix-like operating systems, primarily Linux and macOS. Since late 2017 there is also an experimental build for Android. Wine is almost as old as the Linux project, starting in the summer of 1993. Today it's widely used, very popular and sponsored by companies such as CodeWeavers and Valve. The core Wine development aims at a correct implementation of the Windows API as a whole. In this regard it's similar to the [[MAME]] project in its focus on correctness over usability. There are a lot of versions/forks of Wine which focus of different goals, such as usability, compatibility, gaming, office applications, etc. A few are listed below, Wikipedia has [[wikipedia:Wine_(software)#Other_versions_of_Wine|a more complete list]].
 
*[[Wine]] is a free and open-source compatibility layer that aims to allow computer programs (application software and computer games) developed for Microsoft Windows to run on Unix-like operating systems, primarily Linux and macOS. Since late 2017 there is also an experimental build for Android. Wine is almost as old as the Linux project, starting in the summer of 1993. Today it's widely used, very popular and sponsored by companies such as CodeWeavers and Valve. The core Wine development aims at a correct implementation of the Windows API as a whole. In this regard it's similar to the [[MAME]] project in its focus on correctness over usability. There are a lot of versions/forks of Wine which focus of different goals, such as usability, compatibility, gaming, office applications, etc. A few are listed below, Wikipedia has [[wikipedia:Wine_(software)#Other_versions_of_Wine|a more complete list]].
−
**[[Proton]] is Valve's one-click solution to play Windows games on Linux. It's included in the Steam Linux client by default. Simply click on a whitelisted game and it will launch without any configuration, or enable it for all games in the settings. Proton is based on a fork of Wine in combination with other components such as DXVK (explained below) and FAudio.
+
**[[Proton]] <small class="plainlinks" style="font-weight:normal;">[https://www.protondb.com/ (compatibility)]</small>: is Valve's one-click solution to play Windows games on Linux. It's included in the Steam Linux client by default. Simply click on a whitelisted game and it will launch without any configuration, or enable it for all games in the settings. Proton is based on a fork of Wine in combination with other components such as [[Wrappers|DXVK]] (which is a wrapper explained below) and FAudio.
 
**[https://www.codeweavers.com/products/ CrossOver] is a commercialized, supported version of Wine from CodeWeavers. It uses additional patches on top of Wine to make it easy to use. They contribute all of their work on CrossOvers back to Wine and make up about two thirds of the commits made to Wine. CrossOver is available on macOS, Linux and Chrome OS.  
 
**[https://www.codeweavers.com/products/ CrossOver] is a commercialized, supported version of Wine from CodeWeavers. It uses additional patches on top of Wine to make it easy to use. They contribute all of their work on CrossOvers back to Wine and make up about two thirds of the commits made to Wine. CrossOver is available on macOS, Linux and Chrome OS.  
 
**[[Wineskin]] is an open-source compatibility layer which allows users to easily convert Windows software to macOS. The ports are in the form of Mac .app bundles with a self-contained Wine instance which are wrapped around the application to be converted.  
 
**[[Wineskin]] is an open-source compatibility layer which allows users to easily convert Windows software to macOS. The ports are in the form of Mac .app bundles with a self-contained Wine instance which are wrapped around the application to be converted.  
−
* [[TeknoParrot]] is a compatibility layer for Windows PCs to run games originally made for Windows-based arcade systems. Has since version 1.51 also support for some games from the Linux-based Sega Lindbergh arcade board.
+
* [[TeknoParrot]] is a compatibility layer for Windows PCs to run games originally made for Windows-based arcade systems. Has since version 1.51 also support for some games running on Linux.
 +
* '''Rosetta''' was a compatibility layer for running PowerPC apps on x86-based Macs on OS X versions prior to 1.07. '''Rosetta 2''' is a comptibility layer on Apple silicon Macs allowing x86-64 apps to run on ARM-based Macs. Note that Rosetta 2 is not strictly limited to MacOS apps as software such as Crossover is able to call it to emulate x86 code in Windows binaries.
 
* [[Darling]] is a translation layer that allows you to run unmodified macOS binaries on Linux. In its nature, it is similar to the well-known [[Wine]] project. At this point, does not yet run macOS application with a GUI.
 
* [[Darling]] is a translation layer that allows you to run unmodified macOS binaries on Linux. In its nature, it is similar to the well-known [[Wine]] project. At this point, does not yet run macOS application with a GUI.
 +
* [https://mcpelauncher.readthedocs.io/ Minecraft Bedrock Launcher] is a compatibility layer made specifically to run the Android version of Minecraft: Bedrock Edition on Linux and macOS. It is not compatible with any other Android apps.
 +
* Windows Subsystem for Linux 1 is a compatibility layer and shouldn't be confused with WSL2. WSL2 introduced important changes such as a real Linux kernel, through a subset of '''Hyper-V features''', so it's not a compatibility layer like WSL1.
 +
* KMRE is a compatibility layer and it's the official solution to run Android applications on computers with Chinese homegrown Phytium/KunPeng ARM processors and NeoKylin Linux operating system, though later also available on x86-64 on [https://www.ubuntukylin.com/index-en.html Ubuntu Kylin]. KMRE is not designed with third-party applications outside its app store and in fact, force installing third-party apps breaks older versions of KMRE. It's the go-to solution if you are restricted to working with these kinds of computers due to national security reasons.
 +
* Vita2hos is an early compatibility layer for Nintendo Switch that runs PlayStation Vita applications natively. Only able to load simple test homebrews such as vita-8 as of December 2022. Appears to only be developed every once in a while.
  
 
==Wrappers==
 
==Wrappers==
Line 149: Line 252:
 
[[Category:Compatibility layers]]
 
[[Category:Compatibility layers]]
 
[[Category:Not really emulators]]
 
[[Category:Not really emulators]]
 +
----
 +
{{NEL}}

Latest revision as of 14:34, 12 May 2024

While not strictly emulation per se (hence why Wine stands for "Wine Is Not an Emulator"), compatibility layers allow software written for one operating system to run on a different OS, often by translating API and system calls made by an application to their equivalent calls in the host operating system. In theory, this should allow for near-native performance since no processor emulation takes place, but in practice some software such as games will tend to run a bit slower due to other bottlenecks that occur as a result of replicating the correct behavior, such as accounting for graphics APIs like Direct3D that aren't supported on non-Microsoft platforms. Additionally, compatibility layers may also use emulation in order to run software built for a different architecture, see Emulation Accuracy page for more information about terms like "hypervisors", "simulators", "compatibility layers", "wrappers", "FPGA-based hardware cloning" and "software emulators".

Compatibility layers[edit]

Name Operating System(s) Latest Version FLOSS Active Recommended Runs the following software
PC / x86
Wine         9.0
(Dev: 9.8 )
Haiku 		✓ ✓ ✓ Windows applications and games
Proton
(included with Steam) 		  8.0-5
git 		✓ ✓ ✓ Windows games
TeknoParrot   TPBootstrapper
1.0.0.140 		✗ ✓ ✓ PC-based arcade games
Rosetta   N/A ✗ ✗ ✓ PowerPC OS X apps on x86-64 based Macs. Support ended with OS X 10.7
CrossOver       22.1 ✗ ✓ ✓ Windows applications and games
Minecraft Bedrock Launcher     v0.10.0 ✓ ✓ ~ Minecraft: Bedrock Edition (Android version)
Linuxulator   Wiki
Docs 		✓ ✓ ~ Linux software
libhoudini
libndk
Intel BT 		  1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 ✗ TBD ~ ARM apps
UEngine   git ~ ✓ ✗ Android software
Darling   git ✓ ✓ ✗ (WIP) macOS software
xDroid   11.1.51 ✗ ✓ ✗ Android software
WineVDM   git
Dev 		✓ ✓ ✓ 16-bit Windows apps and games
Wineskin   1.7 ✓ ✗ ✗ Windows applications and games
WineBottler   4.0.1.1 Dev ✓ ✗ ✗ Windows applications and games
WoW   N/A ✗ ✗ ✗ Windows 9x apps and games
Win3mu   Source ✓ ✗ ✗ Windows 3.x apps and games
NTVDMx64   git ✓ ✓ ✗ DOS applications and games
Ardi Executor       2.1.17 ✓ ✗ ✗ Classic Mac OS software up to System 6
DOSEmu   1.4.0 ✓ ✗ ✗ DOS software
DOSEmu2   git ✓ ✓ ✗ DOS software
Windows Subsystem for Linux 1   Install guide ? ? ✗ Allows developers to run a Linux environment.
KMRE   2.4.6.8
2.4.8.7-0k0.9[A 1] 		? ~ ✗ Allows openKylin/Ubuntu Kylin to run Android applications.
Mobile / ARM
Rosetta 2   N/A ✗ ✓ ✓ x86-64 macOS applications on Apple Silicon Macs
CrossOver   22.1 ✗ ✓ ✓ Windows applications and games
Game Porting Toolkit   Installation guide ✗ ✓ ✓ Windows games
Box86/Box64       git-86/git-64 ✓ ✓ ~ x86-64 Linux programs
FEX-Emu     git ✓ ✓ ~ x86-64 Linux programs
Wine     Android builds
ARM support 		✓ ✓ ~ Windows applications and games
Vita2hos   Alpha 0.3 ✓ ✓ ✗ runs PlayStation Vita applications natively
Hangover     git ✓ ✓ ✗ Windows applications and games
Skyline   git ✓ ✗ ✗ Nintendo Switch games and homebrew
ExaGear-KunPeng   3.0.0.1 ✗ ✓ ✗ x86 Linux programs*
KMRE   2.4.8.7-0k0.9
2.5.0.2-0k0.1tablet3[A 2] 		? ~ ✗ Allows openKylin/NeoKylin (with supported processors) to run Android applications.
Consoles
Nintendont     git ✓ ✓ ✓ GameCube games
Misc
LATX   1.4.3 Beta 2 ✗ ✓ TBD x86 Linux programs*
  1. ↑ 2.4.8.7 is untested-NeoKylin never announced nor shipped this with x86 releases
  2. ↑ 2.5.0.2 is only for some industrial tablets or similar devices with Phytium processors. Regular desktop devices should continue with 2.4.8.7 .

Comparisons[edit]

  • Wine is a free and open-source compatibility layer that aims to allow computer programs (application software and computer games) developed for Microsoft Windows to run on Unix-like operating systems, primarily Linux and macOS. Since late 2017 there is also an experimental build for Android. Wine is almost as old as the Linux project, starting in the summer of 1993. Today it's widely used, very popular and sponsored by companies such as CodeWeavers and Valve. The core Wine development aims at a correct implementation of the Windows API as a whole. In this regard it's similar to the MAME project in its focus on correctness over usability. There are a lot of versions/forks of Wine which focus of different goals, such as usability, compatibility, gaming, office applications, etc. A few are listed below, Wikipedia has a more complete list.
    • Proton (compatibility): is Valve's one-click solution to play Windows games on Linux. It's included in the Steam Linux client by default. Simply click on a whitelisted game and it will launch without any configuration, or enable it for all games in the settings. Proton is based on a fork of Wine in combination with other components such as DXVK (which is a wrapper explained below) and FAudio.
    • CrossOver is a commercialized, supported version of Wine from CodeWeavers. It uses additional patches on top of Wine to make it easy to use. They contribute all of their work on CrossOvers back to Wine and make up about two thirds of the commits made to Wine. CrossOver is available on macOS, Linux and Chrome OS.
    • Wineskin is an open-source compatibility layer which allows users to easily convert Windows software to macOS. The ports are in the form of Mac .app bundles with a self-contained Wine instance which are wrapped around the application to be converted.
  • TeknoParrot is a compatibility layer for Windows PCs to run games originally made for Windows-based arcade systems. Has since version 1.51 also support for some games running on Linux.
  • Rosetta was a compatibility layer for running PowerPC apps on x86-based Macs on OS X versions prior to 1.07. Rosetta 2 is a comptibility layer on Apple silicon Macs allowing x86-64 apps to run on ARM-based Macs. Note that Rosetta 2 is not strictly limited to MacOS apps as software such as Crossover is able to call it to emulate x86 code in Windows binaries.
  • Darling is a translation layer that allows you to run unmodified macOS binaries on Linux. In its nature, it is similar to the well-known Wine project. At this point, does not yet run macOS application with a GUI.
  • Minecraft Bedrock Launcher is a compatibility layer made specifically to run the Android version of Minecraft: Bedrock Edition on Linux and macOS. It is not compatible with any other Android apps.
  • Windows Subsystem for Linux 1 is a compatibility layer and shouldn't be confused with WSL2. WSL2 introduced important changes such as a real Linux kernel, through a subset of Hyper-V features, so it's not a compatibility layer like WSL1.
  • KMRE is a compatibility layer and it's the official solution to run Android applications on computers with Chinese homegrown Phytium/KunPeng ARM processors and NeoKylin Linux operating system, though later also available on x86-64 on Ubuntu Kylin. KMRE is not designed with third-party applications outside its app store and in fact, force installing third-party apps breaks older versions of KMRE. It's the go-to solution if you are restricted to working with these kinds of computers due to national security reasons.
  • Vita2hos is an early compatibility layer for Nintendo Switch that runs PlayStation Vita applications natively. Only able to load simple test homebrews such as vita-8 as of December 2022. Appears to only be developed every once in a while.

Wrappers[edit]

Compatibility layers may also make use of wrappers, which translate a specific graphics API to another. How the user sets up the wrapper varies between each project but most involve a drop-in replacement of the original libraries.

Main article: Wrappers
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