Linux ports in FreeBSD is very outdated. Time to create new ports with newer GLIBC. For base we can get Rocky Linux (AlmaLinux?) 8 or even 9. Or Ubuntu 22.04. I can't create all work self - too complicated, but I can help with some parts.
You could start working on this in a branch on GitHub and post the link there. I'll certainly help you at some point.
I don't even know where to start…
(In reply to VVD from comment #2) I'd start with adding "c8" support into Mk/Uses/linux.mk. Go through the file, extend current ".if ${linux_ARGS} == c7" blocks with new ".elif ${linux_ARGS} == c8". Add appropriate MASTER_SITES. Then try creating emulators/linux_base-c8 port by looking at existing linux_base-c7. After that we can start iterating over existing linux_* ports.
CentOS is "dead". It became rolling. There is no point in switching to CentOS 8. IMHO, time to move to Rocky Linux.
CentOS 8 is not yet rolling, from what I can tell? It is CentOS Stream that became a rolling one?
Even more - CentOS 8 is EOL already. https://www.centos.org/centos-linux-eol/ https://www.mail-archive.com/centos-announce@centos.org/msg11991.html
Oh, hum. Then yes, we need something else. Ubuntu LTS?
I also agree that the Centos environment is very outdated. My opinion, among the different versions of Linux, I would prefer to use Ubuntu. Because the use of the Ubuntu environment has already been tested many times. For example, https://forums.freebsd.org/threads/linuxulator-how-to-install-brave-linux-app-on-freebsd-13-0.78879/. I myself have also repeatedly tested several applications in the Ubuntu environment https://ulbsd.ru/shop/view/article/175.
(In reply to Serge Volkov from comment #8) > pkg install debootstrap pulseaudio With pulseaudio my sound is broken. And use 22.04, not 20.04.
(In reply to VVD from comment #9) I installed the Yandex browser a few days ago. And updated the instructions at this link https://ulbsd.ru/shop/view/article/175. With my configs and settings, the sound in the Yandex browser works. Perhaps this is due to the fact that I did not install the package on a clean FreeBSD, but on ULBSD. It has several hundred different packages installed. But the base system is FreeBSD 13.1 RELEASE-p7, latest KDE Plasma 5. And I also set the Ubuntu 22.04 (jammy) environment.
Another candidate is https://rockylinux.org which is a continuation of CentOS 7 philosophy. Red Hat packets, not a rolling release, support until 2027. Switching to it should also be a matter of changing MASTER_SITES and bumping ports versions.
FWIW, a long time ago I've started the https://reviews.freebsd.org/D30788 to add emulators/linux_base-ubuntu; it might be useful as a starting point. The main problem, from what I remember, is that most Linux apps we care about, like Steam, are still 32-bit only, and I can't say I understand Ubuntu's idea of handling 32 bit libraries.
Not that I can contribute anything, because I am not a developer, but the problem is definitely there and affects not just "some software", but probably a lot of Linux games, if not to say all of them, which are a bit newer. The other day I just wanted to check out this one: https://unvanquished.net/ and I got a glibc error using the Linux installer and also the binary. I also assume that many Linux games from Steam do not start either because of this. So as an end user, I definitely support the idea here to implement another Linuxulator. Ideally, it should be able to install and run the official Linux Steam binary directly. Apparently, Steam officially supports Ubuntu LTS, so maybe that would be the way to go?
I've started work on bringing in Rocky Linux. My WIP branch is here [1]. Testers and contributors are welcome. [1] https://github.com/arrowd/freebsd-ports/tree/rocky
Great! Can you please provide instructions for testing, assuming the creation and utilization of a 13.2-RELEASE virtual machine?
I would like to propose to base on Debian Stable https://www.debian.org. It's a completely community-driven distribution.
Re: (a) current options and uncertainties and (b) ultimate decision-making – and everything that might fall between (a) and (b) – I'm not sure that a single bug report in Bugzilla will be ideal for what might become a sprawling discussion. I'll have a chat in #freebsd-bugs about this one. The compat-linux alias and the tracking keyword might move to a different report in due course.