title: Are Linux programs as portable as Windows programs?
body: <p>Maybe this is a dumm question, but it's one of these one learns from people talking here and there, and I'd be happy if a pro described the situation correctly.</p>
  
  <p>Talking about standard desktop computers, I see that Windows programs are as portable as it can get. I could compile any 32-bit software with static library linking, and then put that software on a flash-drive, and it'll work on any computer in the world that's 32-bit or 64-bit. I have programs that are over 10 years old, and they still work without a single problem.</p>
  
  <p>Now I program linux too, but I don't have that picture in mind when doing linux programs. I always have the picture that it should be compiled in every system where the program has to be used. A colleague told me one that it's wrong to run the same software on two computers blindly among two linux computers. But... I do that on Windows with my static executables. Can I do that in linux two?</p>
  
  <p><strong>So to summarize my question</strong>: What are the limitations to creating portable software on linux, as people do on Windows? Of course, assuming that the target computer has no libraries at all other than glibc of some arbitrary version. All libraries <em>should</em> be static in the model I have in my mind.</p>