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Wine (software) facts for kids

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Wine
WINE-Logo.svg
Wine configuration screenshot.png
screenshot of winecfg
Original author(s) Alexandre Julliard
Developer(s) Wine authors
(1,426 and counting)
Initial release July 4, 1993; 31 years ago (1993-07-04)
Stable release
4.0 / January 22, 2019; 6 years ago (2019-01-22)
Preview release
4.0 / January 22, 2019; 6 years ago (2019-01-22)
Written in C
Operating system Unix-like systems and Microsoft Windows
Platform Cross-platform
Size 19 MB (archived)
Available in English
Type Compatibility layer
License GNU Lesser General Public License

Wine is a special computer program that lets you run apps made for Microsoft Windows on other types of computers. These other computers usually use operating systems like Linux or macOS, which are called Unix-like systems.

Imagine you have a game or a program that only works on a Windows computer. Wine helps your non-Windows computer understand and run that program without needing to pretend it's a Windows computer (this is called emulation). It's like teaching your computer a new language so it can speak to Windows apps directly!

Wine also has a part called Winelib. This is a set of tools that helps computer programmers change Windows apps so they can work better on Unix-like systems. Some parts of Wine's code are even used in another free operating system called ReactOS, which aims to be like Windows.

How Wine Started and Grew

The first version of Wine was released on July 4, 1993. It took a long time to develop! After 15 years of hard work, the people who made Wine finally released version 1.0 on June 17, 2008.

Is Wine Free to Use?

Yes, Wine is what we call free software. This means you can use it, share it, and even change it if you know how to code. It's released under a special license called the GNU Lesser General Public License (LGPL). This license makes sure that Wine stays free for everyone to use and improve.

Images for kids

  • WINE project
  • Winecfg in 32-bit mode (v 5.5) (cropped)

    A screenshot showing how Wine can be configured to mimic different versions of Windows, going as far back as Windows 2.0 in the 32-bit version (64-bit Wine supports only 64-bit versions of Windows)

  • PlayOnLinux-Screenshot

    PlayOnLinux

  • Wine-solitaire-on-android

    WINE Solitaire running on Android

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Wine para niños

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