wine users - Mar 2007 - Difference Between WINE and an Emulator

I've got someone who doesn't understand that WINE Is Not an Emulator and
apparently doesn't get the FAQ on the site.  I personally don't use WINE
(still
being on Windows kinda avoids the need), so I don't really have the
knowledge
to argue this much farther.  Here's his latest point (formating in clasic 
usenet style below), I need something simple that says, "no."

Thanks in advance.

Draco18s
>Blue wrote:
>Well, no matter how you put it...
>
>It allows you to run windows-only programs, in a Linux enviroment, and from 
>what i can see on screenshots, it runs the program window, inside a linux-
>program window.
>
>So no matter how detailed you might explain, it will still be an emulator to
>me...
>
>Just look at game emulators for PS2, GBA, N64, etc... It runs an emulation
of a
>console game, in a window, in your windows... so basically, something that
isnt
>suppose to run on your comp, is still beeing runned, on a system that isnt 
>suppose to be able to run it.
>It also translates data and IO back and forth, making you play the game as
it
>was intended to, on the system normally not beeing able to do it.
>And what is it called?
>
>Yeah, an Emulator.
>
>This thing looks the exact same way, and does the exact same thing; Allowing
>you to run something on your OS, that isnt suppose to be possible to run, by
>translating data and IO back and forth.
>
>So no matter what you say, I will still see it as an emulator, and referr it
>like one too.
>And FYI, i have had lots of friends that used WINE, and they all called it
"A
>Windows Emulator".

In comp.emulators.ms-windows.wine, Draco18s
<draco18s2_DOES_NOT@LIKE_SPAM_hotmail.com>
 wrote
on Mon, 14 Aug 2006 15:40:51 -0400
<MPG.1f4a9bd1137ac4749896ec@news.teranews.com>:
> I've got someone who doesn't understand that WINE
> Is Not an Emulator and apparently doesn't get the FAQ
> on the site.  I personally don't use WINE (still 
> being on Windows kinda avoids the need), so I don't
> really have the knowledge to argue this much farther.
> Here's his latest point (formating in clasic 
> usenet style below), I need something simple that says, "no."
I'll admit to wondering myself.  WinE is a series of
library routines and maybe a wineserver that among other
things can translate Win32 calls into X ones, and File,
Process, etc. calls into basic Unix/C library ones, and
a whole lot of other stuff.

It of course is not an instruction emulator in the Bochs
sense, but it does emulate Win32.  Of course the computational
parts in the game/utility/etc. it can simply run natively,
since it also understands how to load Intel PE files -- Windows
.EXE offerings -- and set them up properly.

It therefore gets reasonably good performance.

So what does it matter, really?  It does the job, probably better
than native Windows. :-)
>
> Thanks in advance.
>
> Draco18s
>
>>Blue wrote:
>>Well, no matter how you put it...
>>
>>It allows you to run windows-only programs, in a Linux enviroment, and
from
>>what i can see on screenshots, it runs the program window, inside a
linux-
>>program window.
>>
>>So no matter how detailed you might explain, it will still be an
emulator to
>>me...
>>
>>Just look at game emulators for PS2, GBA, N64, etc... It runs an
emulation of a
>>console game, in a window, in your windows... so basically, something
that isnt
>>suppose to run on your comp, is still beeing runned, on a system that
isnt
>>suppose to be able to run it.
>>It also translates data and IO back and forth, making you play the game
as it
>>was intended to, on the system normally not beeing able to do it.
>>And what is it called?
>>
>>Yeah, an Emulator.
>>
>>This thing looks the exact same way, and does the exact same thing;
Allowing
>>you to run something on your OS, that isnt suppose to be possible to
run, by
>>translating data and IO back and forth.
>>
>>So no matter what you say, I will still see it as an emulator, and
referr it
>>like one too.
>>And FYI, i have had lots of friends that used WINE, and they all called
it "A
>>Windows Emulator".

-- 
#191, ewill3@earthlink.net
Windows Vista.  Because it's time to refresh your hardware.  Trust us.

On Mon, 14 Aug 2006 15:40:51 -0400, Draco18s wrote:
> I've got someone who doesn't understand that WINE Is Not an
Emulator and
> apparently doesn't get the FAQ on the site.  I personally don't use
WINE
> (still being on Windows kinda avoids the need), so I don't really have
the
> knowledge to argue this much farther.  Here's his latest point
(formating
> in clasic usenet style below), I need something simple that says,
"no."
 An emulator is a specific type of program that mimics hardware. Windows
is not a piece of hardware, ergo Wine Is Not an Emulator. It's merely a
clone of the Windows API.
 It's sort of like the difference between a program that performs
mathematical calculations on numbers, and a program that models the
internal structures of a Texas Instruments calculator -- a hardware device
which also performs mathematical calculations on numbers. The programs may
look similar, but inside, they are two entirely different beasts. The
gap between wine and an x86 emulator is a BIT less wide than that, but not
nearly enough to require a name-change on wine's part. 

 OTOH, if he insists on making up his own definitions for words,
he's free to do so. He'll just have to put up with the fact that the
rest
of the planet is talking past him.

-- 
 - Mantar  --- Drop YourPantiesSirWilliam to email me.

Mantar, Feyelno nek dusa wrote:
> On Mon, 14 Aug 2006 15:40:51 -0400, Draco18s wrote:
> 
>> I've got someone who doesn't understand that WINE Is Not an
Emulator and
>> apparently doesn't get the FAQ on the site.  I personally don't
use WINE
>> (still being on Windows kinda avoids the need), so I don't really
have
>> the
>> knowledge to argue this much farther.  Here's his latest point
(formating
>> in clasic usenet style below), I need something simple that says,
"no."
> 
>  An emulator is a specific type of program that mimics hardware. Windows
> is not a piece of hardware, ergo Wine Is Not an Emulator. It's merely a
> clone of the Windows API.
>  It's sort of like the difference between a program that performs
> mathematical calculations on numbers, and a program that models the
> internal structures of a Texas Instruments calculator -- a hardware device
> which also performs mathematical calculations on numbers. The programs may
> look similar, but inside, they are two entirely different beasts. The
> gap between wine and an x86 emulator is a BIT less wide than that, but not
> nearly enough to require a name-change on wine's part.
> 
>  OTOH, if he insists on making up his own definitions for words,
> he's free to do so. He'll just have to put up with the fact that
the rest
> of the planet is talking past him.
> 
In the technical sense, an emulator is just what you have said, but I quote
from Webster's Dictionary part of the definition of 'emulate'
<<1. Try to equal or excel; imitate with effort to equal or surpass;
'to
emulate one's father.'>>

In that sense, Wine's behaviour 'emulates' the behaviour of Windows
in that
it can run (a bunch of) software that Windows can. So, in the non-technical
sense, it does emulate Windows. If 'emulator' were not a technical term,
there would be no argument.

-- 
If you wrestle in the mud with a pig.
you both get dirty, and the pig likes it.

-- Dave Dawson