Google’s new proposal would see the upcoming “native” Fuchsia platform running Android and Linux apps using a translation cover called Starnix. This new architecture looks similar to how new M1 – based Macs can run Intel – based apps using Rosetta 2.
“As we expand the software world we want to run on Fuchsia, we come across software we want to run on Fuchsia that we do not have the ability to recycle, the proposal read. “For example, Android applications have native code modules that have been developed for Linux. To run this software on Fuchsia, we need to be able to run binaries without modifying them. ”
While Fuchsia remains largely a mystery, we know that Google is positioning this platform as an open space for both Android and Chrome OS. It will run both Android and Linux apps, as Chrome OS does today, and so far, the plan has been to run these platforms in virtual machines (VMs). ), similar to how Chrome OS works.
However, this proposal changes the strategy to a “take your own running time” approach. So instead of running Linux and Android apps in VMs, Fuchsia could use Starnix to translate those apps into native binaries that Fuchsia understands natively. This is very similar to Rosetta 2, the M1-based Mac component that translates Intel-based Mac apps so they can run normally.
In addition to profitability, the real goal here seems to be for developers to create native Fuchsia apps, but Starnix – like Rosetta 2 on M1 – based Macs – can be used at the time of transition.
Tagged with Google Fuchsia