The openSUSE Build Service framework, designed to encourage developers to compile packages for multiple Linux distributions, has been extended to support CentOS and Red Hat Enterprise Linux.

"As its name suggests, the openSUSE project is committed to choice and opposed to the exclusion of innovation simply because it may have originated in another project," said Michael Loeffler, openSUSE product manager at Novell.

"By adding support to build packages for CentOS and Red Hat Enterprise Linux, the openSUSE Build Service makes it even easier to build packages across multiple Linux distributions, thus further enabling innovative ideas to spread quickly throughout the free and open source software community."

Francis Giannaros, a member of the independent openSUSE board, said: "Web software created by specific Linux distributions has often been hindered by its proprietary nature that restricts its use by others.

"The openSUSE Build Service remains completely free and open software, and now we are adding full support for building packages for all popular distributions directly at openSUSE.org."

The openSUSE Build Service already supports several Linux distributions including openSUSE, Ubuntu, SUSE Linux Enterprise and Debian.