San Francisco, Calif. – September 14, 2004 — The Free Standards Group, a nonprofit organization dedicated to developing and promoting open source software
standards, today announced the availability of the Linux Standard Base (LSB) 2.0, an essential component for the long-term market success of Linux. Important
new features delivered in this release include the long-awaited inclusion of a new application binary interface (ABI) for C++ and support for 32 and 64 bit
hardware architectures. The Free
Standards Group also announced today that the standard has earned support from
the majority of Linux distribution vendors throughout the world, marking a
significant stage in the deployment of a true global standard for Linux. (See attached Quote Sheet featuring endorsements from nineteen vendors.)
The LSB has garnered pledges of support from the majority of the Linux
Community including AMD, Conectiva, Dell, HP, IBM, Intel, Mandrakesoft,
Miracle Linux, Novell’s SUSE LINUX, Progeny, Red Flag, Red Hat, Sun Wah
Linux, Thizlinux, and Turbolinux. This groundswell of support is significant
as it promises to keep Linux from forking and going the way of proprietary
systems in the past. Because of the reduced costs for software vendors
writing to the Linux, adoption of the LSB will also result in an
increase in the number of applications written to the operating system.
The Importance of the LSB
The Linux Standard Base is developed and maintained by the Free
Standards Group (FSG), a nonprofit organization dedicated to developing and
promoting open source software standards. The LSB specification offers an answer
to the most pressing issue facing Linux today: fragmentation. Industry
leaders have rallied behind the standard and pledged their support to prevent
this from happening. FSG has developed LSB along with a number of tools and
test suites to facilitate the creation of a standard Linux.
Distributions that comply with the LSB achieve interoperability with application software written to the standard. This is crucial for the on-going success for
Linux as it simplifies the development and porting of applications by ISVs and guarantees end users will not get forced behind a closed operating platform.
Most importantly, support for the LSB
standard ensures Linux will not fork and will continue to be the fastest growing
operating system in the industry. Application vendors will save millions of
dollars by basing their applications on a clear set of standards.
“As a commercial open source software and support vendor we know that
open standards form the basis for all open source success,” said Mark
Brewer, chief executive officer of Covalent. “Ensuring our distribution of
Apache complies with the Linux Standard Base guarantees interoperability with
all major Linux distributions. That keeps our porting costs down and gives
our enterprise customer the freedom and flexibility they demand from open
source.”
“If I, as a developer, have to port my application to two different distributions of Linux, that is one distribution too many,” said Jon “Maddog” Hall,
executive director of Linux International. “The way of assuring that every distribution has all the applications it needs to be successful is through
specifying and applying a cross-distribution,
cross-application, neutrally-determined standard. The LSB provides that
specification. Without this, we are no better than the proprietary Unix
systems of old.”
The Linux Standard Base specification contains a base set of APIs, libraries
and interoperability standards. It also includes test suites, development
environments, sample implementations and developer documentation.
“IDC forecasted in 1997 that Linux would achieve mainstream status in
all markets by the end of 2005,” said Dan Kusnetzky, IDC’s vice
president of system software research. “It appears that this process is well
underway now. Linux has already achieved this status in some markets.
Multi-vendor, multi-platform, standards, such as the Linux Standards Base (LSB), are
obviously a critical success factor if distributors, independent
software suppliers and end-user organizations are going to continue to invest in
Linux.”
Version 2.0 Details
The new version updates some of the basic specifications and
implementations underlying LSB, such as adding support for Single Unix Specification
3.0. A significant new feature in LSB 2.0 is the introduction of a new
application binary interface (ABI) for C++ to improve code interoperability. This
is significant as most applications are currently written in C++. By
including C++ support in the LSB, this gives thousands of software vendors the
ability to port their applications to Linux in a cost-effective manner and thus
will result in an increase in application choice for end users.
LSB support has also been added for new hardware architectures
including the IBM PowerPC 64, S390 and S390X platforms, and Advanced Micro Device’s
64-bit Opteron chip. Intel 32-bit and 64-bit architectures are also supported.
LSB 2.0 also includes test suites and a development environment, a sample
implementation of a complete LSB-based distribution and developer
documentation.
The standard is available today from the Free Standard Group’s Web site
(www.freestandards.org). Details are also available in “Building
Applications with the Linux Standard Base”, (ISBN 0-13-145695-4) a book
published by IBM Press. The book will publish in November 2004 and is
written by core members of the Linux Standard Base Team.
About the Free Standards Group
The Free Standards Group is an independent nonprofit organization
dedicated to accelerating the use and acceptance of free and open source software
by developing and promoting standards. Key Free Standards Group projects
include the Linux Standard Base (LSB), OpenI18N, LANANA and the new
Accessibility Workgroup. Supported by leaders in the IT industry as
well as the open source development community, the Free Standards Group
fulfills a critical need to have common behavioral specifications, tools and ABIs
across Linux platforms. More information on the Free Standards Group is
available at www.freestandards.org.
# # #
Linux Industry Unites Behind Linux Standard Base (Quote Sheet)
The Following Companies have Pledged their Support to the Linux Standard Base
Conectiva
“LSB is doing a great job for the Linux community,” said Arnaldo
Carvalho de Melo – CTO of Conectiva. “We congratulate the Free Standards Group on
this major step. Conectiva is fully committed to achieve LSB 2 certification
for Conectiva Linux.”
Covalent Technologies
“As a commercial open source software and support vendor we know that
open standards form the basis for all open source success,” said Mark
Brewer, chief executive officer of Covalent. “Ensuring our distribution of
Apache complies with the Linux Standard Base guarantees interoperability with
all major Linux distributions. That keeps our porting costs down and gives
our enterprise customer the freedom and flexibility they demand from open
source.”
Dell
“Dell champions industry standards because they drive flexibility,
simplification, and lower costs for customers,” said Judy Chavis,
director of business development, Dell Product Group. “A Linux binary standard
will protect the interoperability of Linux across platforms and thus provides
increased choice for customers.”
HP
“The Free Standards Group and Linux Standard Base help ensure that vendors
adhere to the core ideals of Linux, such as freedom, compatibility, and open
environments,” said Martin Fink, vice president of Linux, HP. “HP delivers
on these core ideals by offering customers a choice of high-quality
Linux solutions based on industry-standard architectures, while providing
simplicity, value, and superior price/performance from desktop to
datacenter.”
IBM
“IBM is a big supporter of Linux and open standards,” said Dan Frye,
vice president of IBM’s Linux Technology Center. “The release of LSB 2.0
represents another large step forward in the maturation of Linux as an
enterprise operating system. Our customers demand interoperability
between their applications and Linux. By pledging to certify to the LSB, we
send a clear message to our customers and ISVs that portability and the
interoperability of a wide range of software is a top priority for IBM
and the industry.”
Intel
“Intel is pleased to support the Linux Standard Base 2.0,” said Dirk
Hohndel, director of Linux and Open Source Strategy at Intel. “Its
support of our 32-bit and 64-bit architectures is significant for both end
users deploying Linux on our platforms as well as application developers
porting to the platforms. A Linux standard is crucial for the long-term success
of Linux in the enterprise. The support it has received from major Linux
vendors proves the LSB is that standard.”
Linux International
“If I, as a developer, have to port my application to two different
distributions of Linux, that is one distribution too many,” said Jon
“Maddog” Hall, executive director of Linux International. “The way of
assuring that every distribution has all the applications it needs to
be successful is through specifying and applying a cross-distribution,
cross-application, neutrally-determined standard. The LSB provides that
specification. Without this, we are no better than the proprietary Unix
systems of old.”
Mandrakesoft
“We are pleased to offer our support to the Linux Standard Base and the
Free Standards Group,” said François Bancilhon, CEO of Mandrakesoft. “Given
the dire consequences of fragmentation, the standards are a key ingredient
to the success of Linux. By supporting the LSB, Mandrakesoft assures its
customers that its value-added version of Linux will interoperate with
their computing infrastructure and will continue to be open and
standards-based. In addition to supporting the efforts of LSB in certifying runtime
environments, Mandrakelinux 10.1 will assist ISVs in building LSB
certified applications.”
Miracle Linux
“Miracle Linux, as the fastest growing provider of Linux in Japan, is
really pleased to join in supporting the Linux Standard Base 2.0. We
understand the importance of open standards such as the LSB,” said Takeshi Sato,
the president of Miracle Linux. “Both Miracle Linux and Red Flag, our Asianux partner, will support the LSB in order to meet our customer expectations to be
able to utilize the
benefits of Linux as an open operating platform for mission critical and
large scale systems.”
Novell
“As an active LSB member, Novell is committed both to providing
customers with standardized Linux technology and to simplifying ISVs’ and IHVs’
Linux certification efforts,” said Chris Schlaeger, VP R&D SUSE LINUX at
Novell. “The availability of common standards plays a decisive role in the
proliferation of Linux operating systems and applications on server and
client systems worldwide, and we appreciate the LSB project’s work in
developing and promoting these standards. We welcome the additions in
the LSB 2.0 specifications and will certify our products to this new LSB
standard once it is ratified.”
The Open Group
“The Open Group is ready to certify applications to the Linux Standard
Base 2.0,’ said Allen Brown, President and CEO of The Open Group. “The LSB
is crucial for the ongoing success of Linux. We’re pleased to work with
the Free Standards Group on certifying products to this important
specification.”
The Open Source Development Labs
“At OSDL, we realize a standard for Linux is an essential component of
Linux’s continued success in the enterprise,” said Stuart Cohen, CEO of
OSDL. “The Free Standards Group is leading that standard with the
announcement of LSB 2.0. We are pleased to work with the FSG to further
extend and test the standard in enterprise settings. Our two organizations
are united behind one goal – accelerating the adoption of Linux.”
Progeny
“The open source community needs common standards to simplify
interoperability,” commented Ian Murdock, Debian founder, chairman and
chief strategist of Progeny. “Progeny is pleased to announce our intent to
certify and support LSB 2.0. Progeny supports the Free Standards Group in
working to establish common standards that help Linux remain both unified and
open.”
Red Flag
“As the leading provider of Linux in China, Red Flag is pleased to
support the Linux Standard Base 2.0,” said Chris Zhao, Acting President of Red
Flag. “We believe the LSB is essential for the continued growth of Linux both in Asia and
globally. Both Red Flag and Miracle, our Asianux partners will support
the Free Standards Group and the LSB to assure our customers they are
running a version of Linux based on this critical global standard.”
Red Hat
“At Red Hat we’re pleased to support the Linux Standard Base,” said
Karen Bennet, vice president of Applications and Tools. “ISVs and developers
need clear cut standards. This will result in an increase in applications
for the Red Hat Enterprise platform and Linux as a whole. The LSB and the Free
Standards Group help balance the needs of enterprise customers, ISVs
and Linux vendors and will continue to keep Linux open and strong.”
Sun Wah Linux Limited
“Strong standards are the basis of continued Linux success. The announcement
of the Linux Standards Base 2.0 provides significant evidence that Linux
standards are thriving. Our customers can rest assured that by pledging
our support to the Free Standards Group, our value-added version of Linux
will remain open, standards-compliant and interoperable with the software of
their choice.” said Alex Banh, deputy chief executive officer of Sun
Wah Linux Limited.
Thizlinux
“As the major Linux distributor in Greater China, we shall contribute
to the healthy development of Linux in the region through safeguarding the
core principles of openness and access,” said Mr. Albert Wong, CEO, Thiz
Technology group. “The Free Standards Group balances the interests of
everyone in the Linux community. The LSB standard gives our customers
assurance that their applications will work with our value-added
distribution of Linux.”
Turbolinux
“By certifying to the Linux Standard Base, we ensure that Linux remains
free.” said Koichi Yano, president and COO of Turbolinux. “As a Linux
distribution vendor, we are committed to maintaining Linux’s core
principles of openness and access. The Free Standards Group balances the interests
of everyone in the Linux community. The LSB standard gives our customers
assurance that their applications will work with our value-added
distribution of Linux.”
