Maximize Your App Compatibility with Wine 80 on Linux & Mac

Wine, a popular tool for running Windows programs on Linux, macOS, and Haiku, has recently released version 8.0 with significant improvements. One of the most notable changes is the ability to compile all Wine modules into the portable executable format (PE). This advancement greatly enhances compatibility with Windows software, particularly in regards to copy protection, Windows debuggers, and problematic apps and games. Additionally, it opens doors for Wine to function more reliably on non-Unix operating systems and may eventually enable x86 applications to run on ARM devices without the need for compatibility layers.

According to developers, this update has been in development for four years. Although still requiring some refinement, certain programs may still utilize Unix calls rather than the intended NT system call pathway. The Wine team has stated in their announcement that "the remaining direct calls will be eliminated during the development of Wine 8.x."

Wine is not only making significant changes to improve performance, but also enhancing the graphical aspect by supporting more graphics cards and introducing a new version of the Vulkan graphics driver. It's worth noting that there are numerous changes, so taking a look at the detailed changelog is highly recommended. Overall, Wine continues to amaze users with its advancements, and while version 8.0 may not be available on all platforms and software repositories, it can still be installed through the typical process. However, it may take some time for applications based on Wine, such as CrossOver, to update.

Source: Wine

Via: Liliputing