It's finally here: a document that defines what Linux is and
what a Linux distribution needs to do in order to claim
compliance.
"The Linux Standard Base (LSB) defines a system interface for
compiled applications and a minimal environment for support of
installation scripts. Its purpose is to enable a uniform industry
standard environment for high-volume applications conforming to the
LSB."
"The LSB defines a binary interface for application programs
that are compiled and packaged for LSB-conforming implementations
on many different hardware architectures. Since a binary
specification must include information specific to the computer
processor architecture for which it is intended, it is not possible
for a single document to specify the interface for all possible
LSB-conforming implementations. Therefore, the LSB is a family of
specifications, rather than a single one."
"The LSB is composed of two basic parts: A common part of the
specification describes those parts of the interface that remain
constant across all hardware implementations of the LSB, and an
architecture-specific part of the specification describes the parts
of the specification that are specific to a particular processor
architecture. Together, the generic LSB and the
architecture-specific supplement for a single hardware architecture
provide a complete interface specification for compiled application
programs on systems that share a common hardware architecture."
