
Wine 9.15 released: enhancements in ODBC, MSHTML, and bug fixes for better compatibility
Wine 9.15 has been released, continuing its bi-weekly development cycle to enhance the functionality of Windows games and applications on Linux and other non-Windows systems. This update brings significant improvements to Open Database Connectivity (ODBC) Windows drivers, essential for connecting Microsoft Access databases to external data sources like Microsoft SQL Server. The release includes numerous patches that facilitate forwarding more SQL functions to the Unicode version, thereby enhancing compatibility and performance in SQL database interactions. Additionally, the ODBC32 Wine code has been updated to ensure its driver loader is thread-safe, reducing the risk of errors or crashes when managing multiple threads.
The new release also focuses on substantial enhancements to MSHTML, implementing more prototype and constructor objects to improve web content handling and Internet Explorer compatibility. Dozens of patches have been integrated, specifically targeting MSHTML functionality improvements.
Wine 9.15 addresses 18 known bugs, including notable fixes benefit popular games such as Final Fantasy XI, Desperados, Jade Empire™: Special Edition and Star Wars: KotOR II. These updates are part of ongoing efforts to improve the compatibility and performance of various Windows games and applications on non-Windows platforms.
