It's hard to grok cause there are no words to describe it.

When people say that something is cross-platform, they usually mean a) that the software will build on multiple platforms b) there is some sort of vm which runs the executable (jvm, beam, wasm)

This is the SAME binary. Running everywhere. Could be super-useful as an archival format for mission critical code. sqlite comes to mind.

Maybe it's late at night, but I'm struggling to find a suitable word for the project that is better than portable or cross-platform.

Literally, I can't find a better word than the project name - "actually portable executable."

@author - if you're reading this please set up something for a few bucks a month on your github sponsors. I don't think I have any use for the library, but this is so outrageous it deserves something more than imaginary internet points.

Justine has built a c library that allows you compile a binary once and have it run it on any os or baremetal. The SAME binary. Quite frankly, that sentence doesn't even make sense to me.

Check out https://storage.googleapis.com/justine/cosmopolitan/index.ht...

As far as I'm concerned, this is literal magic. Look at the magic numbers: https://github.com/jart/cosmopolitan/blob/37a4c70c3634862d8d...

I could go on, but there's no binary portability comparison with any other language. And she has made some pretty neat optimizations.

Back in the day, I saw some pretty neat stuff with the ELF format, but this takes the cake.

Wow.

Edit: I'm editing because this is just so bloody absurd.

https://storage.googleapis.com/justine/printimage.html

$ ./printimage.com someimage.jpg

Like wow. And also video.

https://storage.googleapis.com/justine/printvideo.html

I'm struggling to put my shock into words. I've been around.

There's engineering. There's academia.

But this falls into straight-up wizardry.

Someone has also written a library for this, but I've forgotten where it is.

Go see the wonders of the world. Be in awe.

I would suggest India because it's a microcosm. Go north to the Himalayas and you can feel the majesty. Head to the west to the slums of Mumbai and you will understand poverty. Maybe go learn to meditate out there at a vipassana center. Visit Agra and the goggle at the opulence of the Taj Mahal. Then head to Varanasi and experience the rawness. Maybe you'll even see a miracle or two if you're lucky. Go to Hampi and see giant boulders stacked on top of each other like lego and be bewildered. Stay in a palace just for the hell of it. Take a motorcycle through small villages and be greeted by the children who've never seen anyone so pale or so dark. Sleep in a tent in the deserts of Rajasthan. Visit the holy places and wonder at the peacefulness.

But then again, India isn't for everyone, but it does have everything.

In 2011, I was shopping for a new laptop and wanted to get something with an SSD, but the X-series was more expensive than an MBA. After a tirade about Apple, I finally gave in despite reservations about no trackpoint and durability. I just don't treat my hardware very well. Regarding durability, I've had this thing protect me while I got clipped by a truck, dropped it off a motorcycle, and had it fall several times. A few dents, but it keeps on going. And the trackpoint, well, I've just learned to live without. C'est la vie. The keyboard works, gotten used to it.

I'm still waiting for something better than the MBA that doesn't cost an arm and a leg. Carbon for $1200 + the honor of having to recompile kernels to get less battery life than other OS's just doesn't cut it anymore. This new one ain't it either.

Loyalty is misguided nowadays. They don't build them like they used to.

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5254870

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