Linux can run same applications that are intended for other operating system using emulator programs.
There are some important emulator programs which are given below.
1) DOSEMU: For running DOS programs( http://dosemu.sourceforge.net).
2) WINE: Foe all windows version.
3) ARDI: For Macintosh operating system (MAC OS).
RUNNING DOS APPLICATIONS
I. Using mtools:
mtools are mostly DOS commands that have the letter m in front of them and that run in Linux. Using these commands, you can easily work with DOS files and file system.
| Command | Function |
| mattrib | Which is used to change an MS-DOS file attribute. |
| mbadblock | Which tests a floppy disk and marks any bad blocks contained on the floppy in its FAT. |
| mcd | To change the directory. |
| mcheck | Which is used to verify a file. |
| mcopy | To copy a file. |
| mdel | To delete a file. |
| mdeltree | Which delete an MS-DOS directory along with the files and subdirectories it contains. |
| mdir | Which lists a directory's contains. |
| mformat | Which is used to format a DOS floppy disk. |
| minfo | This command is used to print information about a DOS device, such as a floppy disk. |
| mkmanifest | This command is used to create a shell script that restores Linux file names that were truncated by DOS command. |
| mlabel | The DOS label command, which is used to make a DOS volume label. |
| mmd | Which is used to create a DOS directory. |
| mmount | This command is used to mount a DOS disk in Linux. |
| mmove | Which is used to move a file to another directory or rename it. |
| mrd | Which is used to remove a DOS directory. |
| mren | Which is used to rename a DOS directory. |
| mshowfat | This command is used to show the FAT entry for a file in a DOS file system. |
| mtoolstest | This command is used to test the mtools configuration files. |
| mtype | Which is used to display the contents of a DOS file. |
| mzip | This command is used to performs operations with zip disks including eject, write protect and query. |
| mdu | The Linux du command, which is used to show the amount of disk space used by a DOS directory. |
II. USING DOSEMU:
dosemu does not come with Fedora Core distributions. Download the dosemu RPM file from "dosemu.sourceforge.net".
If it were running DOS then you can use dosemu.
The following commands can be used to start dosemu with in Linux.
| dosemu | Starts the DOS emulator in its shell. |
| xdosemu | Starts the DOS emulator in its an X term window. |
| dosdebug | Starts a debug programs to view information and error messages about a running DOS program. |
Note: Basic information about your DOS environment is set in the "/etc/dosemu/dosemu.conf" file.
If you want other users on your Linux system to use DOS, however, edit the "/etc/dosemu.users" file.
#vi /etc/dosemu.users
root c-all
all c-all
RUNNING MICROSOFT WINDOWS APPLICATIONS WITH WINE
The WINE project ( www.winehq.com ) has been making great strides in getting applications that were create for Microsoft Windows to run in Linux and other OS.
To get WINE for your Fedora system, you can go to the following places.
http://sourceforge.net/projects/wine/
http://wine.dataparty.no/install.html
A commercial version of WINE, called wineX, www.transgaming.com
VMware and Win4Lin are other good ways to run windows applications along with a Linux system on the same running computer.
VMware from www.vmware.com
Win4Lin from www.netraverse.com
UNDERSTANDING WINE
When you install the wine package in Fedora Core, the package creates /etc/wine/wine.conf and /etc/wine/system.reg files that, like the windows registry, identity the locations of components an application would need in a Microsoft Windows operating system.
The location of the basic Microsoft Windows operating system directories for wine is the $HOME/.wine/c directory for each users, which looks like the c: drive to wine. The /usr/share/wine-c directory contains the system-wide version of this directory that each user can point to.
MICROSOFT WINDOWS DRIVE LETTERS IN WINE
| Microsoft Description | Windows Drive Letter Or Name | Driver letters Linux Directory | In wine Linux Device Name (if application) |
| floppy | A: | /mnt/floppy | /dev/fd0 |
| Hard disk #1 | C: | $HOME/.wine/c /usr/share/wine-c | |
| CD-ROM | D: | /mnt/cdrom | /dev/cdrom |
SETTING UP MICROSOFT WINDOWS APPLICATION, WINE
In the example, I want to be able to run the Microsoft paint program (mspaint.exe) from windows in Linux using wine. Here is an example of how to go about it,
I. Make a directory on which to mount your windows partition. For example,
#mkdir /mnt/win
#mount -t vfat /dev/hda1 /mnt/win
#service wine start
To make that partition permanently available to you from Linux, add the following line to /etc/fstab file
/dev/hda1 /mnt/win vfat defaults 0 0
II. Copy the mspaint.exe program from /mnt/win/Program Fies/Accessories/mspaint.exe to /bin directory.
#cp /mnt/win/Program Files/Accessories/mspaint.exe /bin
III. Run the wine command with mspaint.exe as an argument to see if it can run or if it needs some added DLL files.
#wine /bin/mspaint.exe
err: module : PE_fixup_imports Module (file) MFC42.DLL ( Which is needed by z:\a\mspaint.exe) not found.
IV. Next copy the necessary DLL file from the Microsoft Windows partition.
#cp /mnt/win/windows/system/mfc42.dll /usr/share/wine-c/windows/system
V. With the proper DLL files install, type wine /bin/mspaint.exe again and the Microsoft paint window opens.
#wine /bin/mspaint.exe
FINDING MICROSOFT WINDOWS APPLICATIONS FOR WINE
Applications that have been tested to run under wine are maintained at the wine application database ( http://appdb.codeweavers.com ).
