Running Adobe Acrobat3 for Linux-x86 on Alpha-Linux.

Disclaimer: USE IT AT YOUR OWN RISK.

0. If you already configured your system to run the Intel binaries, skip to step 3.

1. Compile the kernel with support for em86 (CONFIG_BINFMT_EM86=y).

2. Get em86 from gatekeeper.dec.com. Install the following:

[root@brain em86]# rpm -ihv em86-0.4-1.alpha.rpm
em86 ##################################################
[root@brain em86]# rpm -ihv --ignorearch em86-x86-0.2-1.i386.rpm
em86-x86 ##################################################
[root@brain em86]# rpm -ihv em86-baselibs-0.2-1.alpha.rpm
em86-baselibs ##################################################
[root@brain em86]# rpm -ihv em86-X11libs-0.2-1.alpha.rpm
em86-X11libs ##################################################

3. Copy the whole directory tree of Adobe Acrobat3 for Linux x86 on your Alpha. I got it from my notebook and I don't remember how I installed it. If it has a binary installer, you'll probably have to run it on an Intel box. In the following I assume that you installed it in /usr/local/Acrobat3.

4. Edit /usr/em86/ld.so.conf and add the following line:

/usr/local/Acrobat3/Reader/intellinux/lib

This path contains the following Acrobat libraries:

[root@brain x86]# ls /usr/local/Acrobat3/Reader/intellinux/lib
XKeysymDB
libagm.so.2.0
libpfs.so.2.5
libreadcore.so.3.0
libagm.so
libpfs.so
libreadcore.so

5. Update the run-time bindings for the x86 libraries; execute:

/usr/bin/ldconfig86

6. Symlink /usr/local/Acrobat3/bin/acroread to /usr/local/bin/acroread. When you start acroread, the kernel detects the x86 binary and runs it through em86.

This procedure worked for me on RH5.2/2.0.36 (RedHat kernel) on an AS200 4/233. YMMV.

Enjoy,