The Free Standards Group Announces the Linux Standard Base Desktop Project

The Free Standards Group, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to developing and promoting open source software standards, and the Linux Standard Base (LSB) workgroup today announced the formation of the LSB Desktop Project. The Free Standards Group also announced that it has already achieved wide participation from such companies as Adobe, IBM, HP, Linspire, Mandriva, Novell, RealNetworks, Red Hat, Trolltech, Xandros and others. (See corresponding quotes in attached release "Industry Supports LSB Desktop Project.") All are donating time and resources to help the workgroup achieve its goal of standardizing common libraries and application behavior that will make it easier for developers to target the Linux desktop. The LSB Workgroup has issued an invitation for all interested parties to participate in the project.

In order for the Linux desktop to achieve widespread adoption, common application runtime and install-time requirements must be standardized and adopted by key Linux distributions. Otherwise, application developers will be constrained, forced to compile to multiple instances of these libraries and distributions. With this complex and costly development and support environment, ISVs may choose not to target the Linux desktop, leading to reduced choice for end users and an inability to compete with proprietary operating systems. The Linux Standard Base Desktop Project will ease this complexity by standardizing core pieces of the Linux desktop (including libraries and other non-binary application behaviors) and encouraging ISVs to use its guidelines when developing for Linux.

"We share the LSB Desktop project's vision of making it easier for software developers to write great audio/video-based applications for Linux without the cost of re-writes. For this reason, we open sourced the RealPlayer's underlying media framework -- the Helix Player -- to encourage innovation without fragmentation," said Kevin Foreman, GM, Helix, RealNetworks Inc. "Standardizing key libraries across multiple distributions will help us target Linux cost effectively while supporting distributions all over the world. We look forward to working closely with the LSB desktop project and promoting their standards and guidelines in our products."

The LSB Desktop Project is a sub-project of the Linux Standard Base. The LSB is modular so distribution vendors and ISVs can target the standard that bests fits their needs. With the LSB, all parties -- distribution vendors, ISVs and end users -- benefit as it becomes easier and less costly for software vendors to target Linux, resulting in more applications available for the Linux platform. The vision of a standard Linux balances the needs of the competitive distribution ecosystem with the requirements of end users and independent software vendors for interoperability.

Standardizing the Desktop

The desktop project of the LSB extends the core specification into areas relevant for desktop-based applications. The goal for the project is to address both runtime and install-time requirements for Linux desktop applications. This project will:

-- Standardize the desktop toolkits and other commonly used libraries
-- Extend the core packaging specification to address desktop specific
installation issues.


The desktop specification will be built on top of existing common practices and specifications including the ones available from freedesktop.org.

Please refer to www.linuxbase.org for further details.The first specification from the LSB desktop project is slated for publication in early 2006 with certifications commencing shortly thereafter. Compliant applications that undergo certification testing will receive a "Linux Standard Base Desktop" certification mark which is in addition to the existing LSB certification program.

"The LSB Desktop is poised for significant growth, especially in the developing world," said Jim Zemlin, executive director of the Free Standards Group. "But desktop users and applications require a high degree of interoperability. Without the standardization of key components, Linux on the desktop's success will be hindered. With key players backing this initiative, the LSB Desktop Project will prevent this from happening. ISVs will be able to cost effectively target the Linux desktop platform."

The Linux Standard Base Desktop Project is developed and maintained by the Linux Standard Base workgroup, a workgroup of the Free Standards Group. 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.

All interested parties are encouraged to participate in the project by joining the desktop project mailing list at www.linuxbase.org. The project is especially looking for requirements from ISVs and end users to drive the future roadmap. It also welcomes feedback and resources from hardware and distribution vendors and all members of the open source community.

About the Free Standards Group

The Free Standards Group is an independent not-for-profit 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, OpenPrinting and the 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.


Press Contact:
Amanda McPherson
415-531-0483


SOURCE: Free Standards Group

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