Editing Fat binary (section)

===FatELF: Universal binaries for Linux===
[[File:FatELF-logo.png|thumb|''FatELF'' logo]]
[[FatELF]]<ref name="Gordon_2009_FatELF"/> was a fat binary implementation for [[Linux]] and other [[Unix-like]] operating systems. Technically, a FatELF binary was a concatenation of [[Executable and Linking Format|ELF]] binaries with some meta data indicating which binary to use on what architecture.<ref name="Gordon_2009_Spec"/> Additionally to the CPU architecture abstraction ([[byte order]], [[word size]], [[CPU]] instruction set, etc.), there is the advantage of binaries with support for multiple kernel [[Application binary interface|ABI]]s and versions.

FatELF has several use-cases, according to developers:<ref name="Gordon_2009_FatELF"/>
* Distributions no longer need to have separate downloads for various platforms.
* Separated ''/lib'', ''/lib32'' and ''/lib64'' trees are not required anymore in [[Filesystem Hierarchy Standard|OS directory structure]].
* The correct binary and libraries are centrally chosen by the system instead of [[shell script]]s.
* If the ELF ABI changes someday, legacy users can be still supported.
* Distribution of web browser plug ins that work out of the box with multiple platforms.
* Distribution of one application file that works across Linux and [[Berkeley Software Distribution|BSD OS]] variants, without a platform compatibility layer on them.
* One hard drive partition can be booted on different machines with different CPU architectures, for development and experimentation. Same root file system, different kernel and CPU architecture.
* Applications provided by network share or USB sticks, will work on multiple systems. This is also helpful for creating [[portable application]]s and also [[cloud computing]] images for heterogeneous systems.<ref name="Windisch_2009"/>

A proof-of-concept [[Ubuntu (operating system)|Ubuntu 9.04]] image is available.<ref name="Gordon_2009_VM"/> {{as of|2021}}, FatELF has not been integrated into the mainline Linux kernel.{{citation needed|date=April 2020}}<ref name="Holwerda_2009"/><ref name="Brockmeier_2010"/>