Can Linux Software run on DSL

Forum: Apps
Topic: Can Linux Software run on DSL
started by: Small King

Posted by Small King on Jan. 06 2007,17:00

Hi I'm new to Linux,

I want to know can DSL run normal Linux Software?
I tried to run a few but it didnt work.

I tried:PassMark BurnInTest Linux V.1.0
and CPU Burn-in (Linux) V1.0

If it is possible can someone tell me how.

Thank you.

Posted by sankarv on Jan. 17 2007,07:16

You actually need the library files (normally based on glibc )to be present for running applications in any of the linux distribution. if the application find any of them missing it wont run properly. You can try installing the gcc package from mydsl repository and then try install and run on your software. This might work...

Posted by scot on Jan. 17 2007,10:53

The tricky thing is there really is no such thing as 'Normal Linux Software.' To save space and work, Sofware is generally built around one or more libraries of exisiting code. And any given developer can decide that he just *has* to use a particular library. The most common of these are in use in most Linux distributions and pose no problem, but many cases the developer wants to use a library that is not otherwise *essential* to a Linux system. So you need this library in order for the program to work. The developer knows this and will tell you what his program 'depends on'.

Full-featured Linux distributions have packaging systems to keep track of all of this and to make it as easy as possible, saving the user from keeping track of dependencie altogether. But DSL keeps itself ultra small, and so has no (fully supported) package manager. (It is able to use Debian's dpkg/apt system to some extent, but that is more of a hack than a supportable feature).

According to its homepage, PassMark BurnIn Test has the following reqirements.

Software requirements:
Linux kernel 2.6.9 or higher.
X Window System X11R6.
KDE 3.2 or higher.
Open GL 1.2 or higher

DSL does not come standard with any of these in fact. DSL has an older kernel for size reasons and for better support of older hardware. It does not include the full X Window system, nor KDE which is a large Desktop system which itself is several times the size of DSL.

On the other hand, programs with smaller dependencies can often by made to run quite well on DSL, either by installing them with the libraries they reqire, or recompiling them for the libraries which DSL has, or some combination of both.

In your case, you may have good luck with Knoppix. It certainly contains the first three of those, and likely the last as well.

Posted by skaos on Jan. 17 2007,13:40

You can out which libraries a program needs by this command:
ldd /full/path/to/programname

Posted by humpty on Jan. 17 2007,22:37

there's not that many programmers that are considerate enough to cater for all the different distros. they often release different versions for the major distros, i.e redhat,debian, ..etc.

if you do a harddisk installation and use apt-get, you stand a good chance to run debian releases. although be warned, this might plunge you into another world of problems (just browse though the hd-install forum).