Wine is a software that allows users to run Windows applications and games on Linux, macOS, Android, and other Unix-like operating systems. Wine is not an emulator, but a compatibility layer that translates Windows system calls into native ones for the host operating system. Wine has been in development since 1993, and has been used by millions of users to run various Windows software on their preferred platforms.
The Wine project has announced the release of Wine 9.0, the latest stable version of the software. Wine 9.0 is the result of a year of development effort and over 7,000 individual changes. It contains many new features, improvements, and bug fixes that enhance the compatibility and performance of Windows applications and games on non-Windows platforms.
Highlights of Wine 9.0
WoW64 mode: This feature allows 32-bit Windows applications to run on a purely 64-bit Unix installation, without requiring a separate 32-bit Unix process. This enables compatibility with recent macOS versions that no longer support 32-bit Unix processes, as well as some Linux distributions that only provide 64-bit packages. WoW64 mode is not enabled by default, as it breaks compatibility with 16-bit code and reduces OpenGL performance. Users can enable it by passing the –enable-archs=i386,x86_64 option to configure.
Wayland driver: This is an experimental graphics driver that supports the Wayland display server protocol, which is replacing the X11 protocol on many Linux distributions. The Wayland driver can handle basic window management, multiple monitors, high-DPI scaling, relative motion events, and Vulkan support directly through Wayland, without relying on the XWayland compatibility layer. The Wayland driver is not enabled by default, but users can activate it through the registry key HKCU\Software\Wine\Drivers.
ARM64 support: This feature enables the execution of existing Windows binaries on ARM64 architecture, such as the Apple M1 chip and the Raspberry Pi. The loader supports loading ARM64X and ARM64EC modules, and the 32-bit x86 emulation interface is implemented. While Wine does not provide an emulation library within itself, external libraries such as QEMU can be used for emulation. The groundwork for building Wine for ARM64EC using an experimental LLVM toolchain is also laid.
Graphics and Direct3D: The graphics area receives a boost with the reimplemented PostScript driver and enhanced WinRT theming supporting a dark theme option. The Vulkan driver now supports up to version 1.3.272 of the Vulkan spec, and several optimizations enhance Direct3D functionality, including improved command stream power consumption and expanded Direct3D 10 effects support.
Audio/Video and DirectShow: The multimedia capabilities are improved with the implementation of DirectMusic modules, DLS1 and DLS2 sound font loading, and MIDI playback through the integration of the FluidSynth library. A built-in Windows Media Video (WMV) decoder DirectX Media Object (DMO) is also implemented, as well as the DirectShow Audio Capture and DirectShow MPEG-1 Video Decoder filters. The DirectShow MPEG-1 Stream Splitter filter now supports video and system streams, as well as audio streams.
Kernel, Internet/Networking, and Security: The kernel area receives updates such as ASLR support, improved exception handling, and more NT syscall implementations. The internet and networking area includes enhancements such as improved HTTP proxy support, WebSocket protocol support, and improved IPv6 support. The security area includes updates such as improved certificate handling, improved NTLM authentication, and improved Kerberos support.
Mono/.NET and apps: The Mono engine, which provides .NET support for Wine, is updated to version 6.4.0, and the .NET Framework support is improved with the implementation of more assemblies and classes. The built-in apps, such as Notepad, Wordpad, Regedit, and Task Manager, are also updated with new features and bug fixes.
Wine 9.0 is available for download from the official website, or from the package managers of various Linux distributions. Users who want to test the new features and improvements can also use the freebsd-update utility to upgrade from previous releases. Users are also encouraged to report any bugs or issues they encounter to the Wine bug tracker.
Leave a Reply