Linux Apps Learn to Work Together

Thanks to two new standards announced on Thursday, software applications should soon be able to run across different versions of the open-source Linux operating system, and Linux offerings will likely be made available for a broader set of international markets.

The Free Standards Group is announcing Linux Standards Base 1.1, which will allow applications to interoperate across any version of Linux that complies, and Li18nux 1.0, for better international support in the operating system.

LSB 1.1 standardizes the core functionality of Linux and some components. It includes a set of common application program interfaces, a development package, and testing capabilities, the Free Standards Group says in a statement issued at the LinuxWorld Conference & Expo in New York.

LSB 1.1 ensures "true compatibility and interoperability," according to the Free Standards Group, which is backed by industry heavyweights including Compaq Computer, Dell Computer, Caldera International, Red Hat, SuSE Linux, Oracle, and IBM.

To further expand the reach of Linux, the group announced Li18nux 1.0, a fruit of its Linux Internationalization Initiative working group. Li18nux is a guide for platform and application developers supporting greater localization capabilities for the software, according to the statement.

Both LSB 1.1 and Li18nux 1.0 are available to developers from the Free Standards Group Web site. Various Linux distributors have committed to make their software LSB-compliant or certified by year end, according to the group.