Question

Does developing applications for SPARC, IBM PowerPC require separate compliers, other than x86 and x86-64 targets?

If true, how easily could x86, x64 binaries in Linux be ported to SPARC and PowerPC? Is there a way to simulate these environments using virtualization?

Answer 1

First answer is, yes, to develop compiled code for Power Architecture or SPARC you need compilers that will generate code for those processors. A compiler that generates x86 or x86_64 code will not generate code that runs on Power Architecture or SPARC. You might find cross compilers running on x86 (32 or 64) that will generate Power or SPARC code, though. But the other thing to be aware of is the object file format (elf, xcoff, and so on). Instruction set is just part of the picture. You might get clearer answers if your provide more details of your particular starting point and goals.

Second, one normally doesn’t talk of porting binaries. We port source code, which may include assembly language as well as C or other languages. The process for doing this includes compiler selection, after which you can begin an iterative process of compiling, porting, compiling, and linking the code for the new hardware. I’m omitting many details. Again, if you provide more specifics in your question, you might get more specific answers.

Third, as others have said, no, you can’t use virtualization in the scenarios you allude to. You might find acceptable emulation solutions. Again, please provide more specifics if you can.