Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7: Application Compatibility GUIDE

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Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7:
Application Compatibility Guide
June 2014

Note: this article discusses Application Compatibility for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7. For Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 please see the attached PDF file (rhel6_app_compatibility_wp.pdf).

Table of Contents

• Executive Summary
• Introduction
• Terminology
• Scope of Compatibility
• Guidelines for Preserving Binary Compatibility
• Appendix A: Compatibility Levels for Specific Packages and Libraries
• Attachments

Executive Summary

This guide is intended to educate independent software vendors (ISVs) and customers on Red Hat's guidelines regarding support of third-party applications across multiple releases of the Red Hat Enterprise Linux platform. ISV and customer applications can reduce or avoid migration issues between major Red Hat® Enterprise Linux® versions by following these guidelines during application development.

This document describes the recommended uses of the system application programming (API) and binary interfaces (ABI) that are intended to provide compatibility across Red Hat Enterprise Linux releases. It outlines the tiered framework under which applications are considered compatible or not compatible.

Introduction

These guidelines seek to provide stability for applications when new releases are deployed and therefore focus primarily on forward-compatibility issues. Although backward compatibility is the goal, development of new capabilities sometimes makes that impractical. Hence, the guidelines and published policy may sometimes be overridden by the objective of providing our customers with the most competitive and capable systems possible; situational testing is always recommended.
If clarification of these compatibility guidelines is required, please see the Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 Developer Guide for additional details, or contact your Red Hat representative.

Terminology

The following are basic terms used in this document:

• Binary compatibility
  Binary compatibility means applications that are compiled on a combination of Red Hat Enterprise Linux and a particular hardware architecture will load and run similarly across different instances of the operating environment. Application binaries consist of executable files and Dynamic Shared Objects (DSO), and the level of compatibility is defined by a specific application binary interface (ABI).

• Application programming interface (API)
  An API is an interface implemented by a software program that enables it to interact with other software, including operating system components. The API is enforced at compile time and determines source compatibility, that is, whether application source code will compile similarly across different instances of the operating environment.

• Application binary interface (ABI)
  An ABI is a set of runtime conventions that interact with a compiled binary representation of a program. ABI is also a superset of the API and describes the low-level interface between an application and the operating environment. It covers details such as:

  • data type, size, and alignment
  • the calling standard, which defines how function arguments are passed and return values retrieved
  • the binary format of object files and program libraries
  • function and / or data symbol names and their versions
    Tools such as the compilers, linkers, runtime libraries, and the operating system itself need to work with the ABI. An ABI operates at runtime.

• ABI conformance
  A compiler conforms to an ABI if it generates code that follows all of the specifications enumerated by that ABI. A library conforms to an ABI if it is implemented according to that ABI. An application conforms to an ABI if it is built using tools that conform to that ABI and does not contain source code that changes behavior specified by the ABI or that otherwise bypasses the ABI.

• Core persistent system infrastructure
  The core persistent system infrastructure refers to interfaces and externally available data structures that represent system state or provide a means of communicating with the system (for instance, system calls and header files).

• Compatibility in a virtualized environment
  Virtual environments emulate bare-metal environments such that unprivileged applications that run on bare-metal environments will run, unmodified, in corresponding virtual environments. Virtual environments present simplified abstracted views of physical resources, so some differences may exist.

• Packages in Supplementary and Optional repositories
  Packages available in the Red Hat Network (RHN) Supplementary and Optional channels are not part of the product but are made available for convenience or to satisfy build dependencies.

• Major and minor releases
  A Red Hat major release represents a significant step in the development of a product (wholesale changes are usually reserved for major releases), and is typically designated by a single numeral (e.g., Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7). Minor releases appear more frequently, within the scope of a major release, and generally represent smaller, incremental developmental steps.

• Red Hat Enterprise Linux Extended Update Support
  Red Hat Enterprise Linux Extended Update Support (EUS) is an optional support offering that allows a customer to standardize on a specific minor release for an extended period of time. Each Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 EUS stream is available for 24 months from the availability of the minor release.

• Red Hat Developer Toolset (DTS)
  Red Hat Developer Toolset (DTS) is an offering that provides the latest stable versions of compilers, debuggers, and select open source development tools. This optional offering has an independent life cycle and is not covered by this Application Compatibility document.

• Red Hat Software Collections (RHSCL)
  Red Hat Software Collections delivers the latest, stable versions of some of the most popular web development languages and open source databases for use with Red Hat Enterprise Linux. This optional offering has an independent life cycle and is not covered by the guidelines described in this Application Compatibility document.

• RHEL Extras
  The contents of the Extras channel are exempt from Red Hat's policy that commits to binary compatibility. See https://access.redhat.com/site/solutions/5154 for details about this binary compatibility policy.

• SystemTap Static Probes
  SystemTap static probes are part of the SystemTap profiling and tracing framework. The probes are integrated into key system libraries to support profiling and debugging of applications and libraries. No assurances are made at this time that integrated SystemTap static probes will continue to have the same probe name, probe location, or interpretation or number of arguments.

Scope of Compatibility

Packages in Red Hat Enterprise Linux are classified under one of the following four compatibility levels:

• Compatibility level 1: ABIs are stable across three major releases; the release that introduces a new or revised ABI, and the two following major releases (n, n+1, n+2). In the case of this document, release n starts with Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7.
  If a change to a library during its life cycle causes an incompatibility with existing compiled code, a separate version of the library will be provided with the older ABI to run the application without modifications.
• Compatibility level 2: APIs and ABIs are stable within one major release. In the case of this document, the major release is Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7.
• Compatibility level 3: Reserved for future use.
• Compatibility level 4: No compatibility is provided. That includes all libraries that the listed package supplies.

For compatibility levels for specific Red Hat Enterprise Linux software packages, please see Appendix A.

Compatibility levels for bare-metal configurations apply to virtualized configurations except for any features that directly interact with hardware. Those features directly related to hardware have no API or ABI compatibility level. For example, applications that rely on Graphics Processing Units (GPU) features cannot expect binary compatibility.

Red Hat strongly recommends that application developers validate that any behavior they depend on is explicitly defined in formal API documentation to prevent introducing dependencies on unspecified implementation-specific semantics or introducing dependencies on bugs in a particular implementation of an API. For example, new releases of the GNU C library may not be compatible with older releases if an application used an undocumented API or one with undefined behavior.

Guidelines for Preserving Binary Compatibility

Red Hat recommends that application developers adopt the following principles in order to improve binary compatibility:

Red Hat recommends that application developers adopt the following principles in order to improve binary compatibility:

1. Build applications using the published interfaces of a library. Non-published (a.k.a. internal) interfaces are subject to change at any time, which can cause instability in the dependent application if improperly linked. Application developers should validate that any behavior they depend on is described in the published API documentation to prevent introducing dependencies on unspecified implementation-specific semantics or introducing dependencies on bugs in a particular implementation of an API. For example, new releases of the GNU C library are not guaranteed to be compatible with older releases if the old behavior was not consistent with a published specification.
2. Avoid static linking of libraries (C/C++). Static linking causes the executables to have their own version of the library. This increases the chance of an application not running predictably on a later version of the operating system as these library dependencies might have changed along the way. Linking applications dynamically is strongly recommended in order to avoid this problem.
3. Limit linking applications to the core libraries at compatibility level 1. The core libraries (see Appendix A) are intended to preserve binary compatibility across three consecutive major releases.
4. Provide compatibility libraries for applications that have been built with libraries that are not at the desired compatibility level, provided the bundled libraries themselves only use the interfaces provided by the core libraries.
5. Package applications using the RPM mechanism. RPM provides a software-packaging mechanism that includes detailed specification of application dependencies. When creating RPMs, the following should be kept in mind:
   (a) Avoid using RPM triggers whenever possible.
   (b) Explicitly state all required runtime and build dependencies using the appropriate RPM syntax.
   (c) Do not modify, replace, or recompile files managed by Red Hat-provided RPM packages. Doing so may lead to unpredictable behavior.
   (d) When considering dependencies, do not assume that all possible packages will be installed on every Red Hat Enterprise Linux system. The default installed packages may change between major releases, between product variants of the same version, and on a customer’s system. For instance, the Workstation product will have a different installed package set than the Server product. Rarely, and due to extenuating circumstances, packages might be removed between minor releases but Red Hat will provide notification if this occurs.
6. Follow the Filesystem Hierarchy Standard (FHS) version 2.3 when installing programs. Third-party software should be installed to the '/opt' subdirectory. More information on the FHS is available at:
   http://www.pathname.com/fhs/.
7. Applications should be built against libraries that correspond to the native hardware environment rather than a compatibility layer on top of the hardware. This is because the compatibility userspace contains a subset of system libraries as compared to the native userspace.
8. Do not design applications that rely on configuration files used by system packages. These files can change between major releases unless the upstream community is explicitly committed to preserving them.
9. If you require functionality from a package that is currently at a lower compatibility level than you wish, please contact Red Hat for review.

Note: During the life cycle of a major release, Red Hat makes commercially reasonable efforts to maintain binary compatibility for the core runtime environment across all minor releases and errata advisories. If necessary, Red Hat may make exceptions to this compatibility goal for critical impact security or other significant issues. Furthermore, as described above and in Appendix A, major releases of Red Hat Enterprise Linux contain a limited set of backward-compatible libraries included in previous major releases to allow for the easy migration of applications. Typically, Red Hat applies changes in such a way as to minimize the amount of change and to maintain binary compatibility. Exceptions may apply for controlled package re-bases under certain circumstances.

Appendix A: Compatibility Levels for Specific Packages and Libraries

Compatibility level 1: APIs and ABIs are stable across three major releases (starting with RHEL 7)

-	-	-	-
alsa-lib	krb5-libs	libtbbmalloc.so	mesa-libGL
elfutils-libelf	libgcc	libtbb.so	mesa-libGLU
glibc	libgfortran	libusb	motif
glibc-utils	libgomp	libvirt-client	pam
gtk2	libstdc++	libxml2	SDL
hesiod	libtbbmalloc_proxy.so	libxslt

Compatibility level 2: APIs and ABIs are stable within one major release (RHEL 7)

-	-	-	-
atk	kdenetwork	libXt
audit-libs	kdepim	libXtst
audit-libs-python	kdepimlibs	libX11
boost-date-time	kdepim-libs	mariadb-libs
boost-filesystem	kdepimlibs-akonadi	ncurses-libs
boost-graph	kdesdk	net-snmp-libs
boost-iostreams	kdesdk-devel	net-snmp-perl
boost-math	kdesdk-kmtrace-libs	net-snmp-python
boost-program-options	kdesdk-kompare	nss
boost-python	kde-workspace	nss-sysinit
boost-regex	kde-workspace-libs	numactl
boost-serialization	libacl	pango
boost-signals	libaio	papi [4]
boost-system	libatomic	pcre
boost-test	libattr	perl
boost-thread	libblkid	perl-Digest-SHA
boost-wave	libcanberra	perl-libs
bzip2-libs	libcanberra-gtk2	perl-Time-Piece
cairo	libcanberra-gtk3	phonon-backend-gstream
c-ares	libcap-ng	polkit
clutter	libcurl	popt
corosynclib	libdb	postgresql-libs
cups-libs	libdb-cxx	pulseaudio-libs
cyrus-sasl-gssapi	libgudev1	pulseaudio-libs-glib2
cyrus-sasl-lib	libhugetlbfs	PyQt4
cyrus-sasl-md5	libICE	python
dbus-glib	libjpeg-turbo	python-libs
dbus-libs	libnotify	p11-kit
ding-libs (srpm)	libpfm [2]	qt
elfutils-libs	libpng	qt-mysql
expat	librsvg2	qt-odbc
fuse-libs	libSM	qt-postgresql
GConf2	libsmbclient	qt-x11
gdk-pixbuf2	libtalloc	qt3
glib2	libtdb	qt3-MySQL
gmp	libtevent	qt3-ODBC
gnome-keyring	libtiff	qt3-PostgreSQL
gnome-keyring-pam	libusb	readline
gnutls	libuuid	realmd
gstreamer-plugins-base	libverto	ruby
gstreamer1	libwbclient	scl-utils
gtk3	libXau	sqlite
httpd	libXaw	startup-notification
java-1.7.0-openjdk [3]	libXext	systemd-libs
kde-baseapps	libXft	systemtap [4]
kde-baseapps-libs	libXi	tcl
kdegraphics	libXinerama	tcp_wrappers-libs
kdegraphics-libs	libXmu	tk
kdelibs	libXpm	unique
kdemultimedia	libXrandr	xz-libs
kdemultimedia-libs	libXrender	zlib
openssl

---

Notes:
[2]: Non-regression on same hardware only; Red Hat is not guaranteeing future hardware support.
[3]: Red Hat will maintain compatibility for OpenJDK based on the Java SE 7 specification guidelines. Red
Hat will defer to the Java SE specification for compatibility between the respective system/default Java
runtime between major versions of RHEL. In most cases, compatibility between major versions of RHEL
can be maintained by using the same version of OpenJDK. If that is not an option due to customer
preference or Java lifecycle limitations, the Java SE specification should be used as guidelines to
determine if applications can be run unmodified between major versions of RHEL.
[4]:Source-level script compatibility

Compability level 3: Reserved for Future Use

(this section intentionally left blank)

Compability level 4: Stability of APIs or ABIs subject to change at Red Hat's discretion

-	-	-	-
adcli	iowatcher	mariadb-server	postgresql-test
binutils (libraries only)	junit	mesa-dri-driver	pulseaudio-libs
dyninst	libasan	openldap	pulseaudio-modu
e2fsprogs-libs	libcgroup	openslp-server	pulseaudio-modu
glade3-libglade	libcom_err	postgresql-cont	pulseaudio-modu
gnome-desktop	libdrm	postgresql-docs	pulseaudio-util
gstreamer	libitm	postgresql-plpe	samba-libs
gstreamer-devel	libldb	postgresql-plpy	tkinter
gstreamer-plugi	libss	postgresql-pltc	valgrind
gvfs	libtsan	postgresql-serv	xfsprogs
nettle

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