Online Computer Terms Dictionary - W

Windows Application Binary Interface

<operating system, tool> (WABI) A software package from Sun Microsystems to allow certain Microsoft Windows applications under the X Window System. Wabi 2.2 runs under Solaris on SPARC, Intel, and PowerPC. Wabi works by providing translated versions of the three core Windows libraries, user.dll, kernel.dll, and gdi.dll which redirect Windows calls to Solaris equivalents. For code other than core library calls Wabi either executes the instructions directly on the hardware, if it is Intel, or emulates them, either one instruction at a time or by translating a block of instructions and caching the result (e.g. for a loop).

WabiServer allows the Windows application and X display to be on different computers.

Overview.

(1997-01-08)