Sun Microsystems has announced its Solaris 7 operating system can now run Linux applications.
Sun said it contributed to the development of the open-source software program called Lxrun, enabling it to translate Linux programs to run on the Solaris 7 OS.
Lxrun software can be used immediately with the Intel Platform Edition of Solaris 7, which runs on computers using Intel processors, said Sun spokesman Nam LaMore. Later this year, Lxrun will be enabled for use on Sun's SPARC processor as well.
The software will allow Sun to participate in the increasing popularity of the Linux OS, as well as to support the development of Linux, LaMore said.
"We want the people who use Solaris to have access to Linux applications," LaMore said. "We also want to see Linux succeed and have a proliferation of applications."
Sun is hoping the new software application may take away from the popularity of the NT operating system of Sun archrival Microsoft, LaMore said.
The software can be downloaded over the Internet for free.
