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The Windows Subsystem for Linux is now open source

blogs.windows.com

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Re: The Windows Subsystem for Linux is now open source

#381

Post by wpm »

yndoendo wrote: post #297
ActorNightly wrote: post #152

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah if you are working with Linux only, its better to go full linux. WSL2 is really handy when you want to run other software though. For example, I use Solidworks, so I need to run windows. Forscan for Ford vehicles also has to run under Windows. Having WSL2 means that I can just have one laptop and run any software that I want.

My development is mainly Windows and I prefer Linux host with Windows VM guests. The experience is more stable and I can revert to a snapshot when Windows or Microsoft product update brakes something or new test configuration does. It also allows to backup and retain multiple QA environments that are rarely used, like a client's Oracle DB. It is nice being able to save the VM state at the end of the week and shut it…

> Windows has known issues of waking a sleeping laptop.

Doesn't Linux as well?

Re: The Windows Subsystem for Linux is now open source

#382

Post by bialpio »

GoblinSlayer wrote: post #299
KingOfCoders wrote: post #212

Earlier quoted context omitted.

(Used 15ys OSX, now Win11) The biggest difference between OSX and Windows is, Apple adds (some say steal) functionality from competition, and open source. They make it neat. On windows to have something working, you need a WezTerm, Everything for search, Windhawk for a vertical taskbar on the right, Powertoys for an app starter, Folder Size for disc management etc. If you spend a lot of time, Win11 can be ok to work…

>Windhawk for a vertical taskbar on the right Huh? Windows supports vertical taskbar.

Last time I checked, Windows 11 lost this capability and 3p solutions like Windhawk are needed. I'd be very happy if they brought this back though, feel free to share a link to some info about how to do it natively.

Re: The Windows Subsystem for Linux is now open source

#383

Post by ChocolateGod »

lproven wrote: post #156
ThinkBeat wrote: post #139

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Your comment that you can do Linux things on Linux missed the point entirely. Where is the reverse WSL on Linux, where Windows is deeply embedded and you have all the Windows features in your hands? You can use Wine/Crosseover, which is cool, but even now the number of software products it supports is tiny. Steam has a lot of games. You can run a virtual machine with Windows on it. That is identical to what you can d…

> Where is the reverse WSL on Linux, where Windows is deeply embedded and you have all the Windows features in your hands? https://github.com/Fmstrat/winapps Enjoy.

I was actually looking for something like this.

Re: The Windows Subsystem for Linux is now open source

#384

Post by transpostmeta »

aaronbaugher wrote: post #376
Boogie_Man wrote: post #368

Why isn't it "Linux Subsystem for Windows" as it is a Linux subsystem running on a Windows os?

I think it's because WSL refers to the Windows subsystem that allows you to run Linux, not to the Linux system itself. You still have to download and install Linux on top of it, or at least you did the last time I used it a few years ago.

I always assumed it was because it was a Subsystem for Linux that allowed it to be run as a guest on a Windows host. But your version works too.

Microsoft ist really terrible at naming things, that's for sure.

Re: The Windows Subsystem for Linux is now open source

#385

Post by JoshTriplett »

encom wrote: post #221
alex_smart wrote: post #172

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> symptomatic of some sort of Stockholm syndrome I have since moved to macbooks for the hardware, but until not too long ago WSL was my linux "distro" of choice because I didn't want to spend time configuring my computer to make basic things work like suspend/wake on lid down/up, battery life, hardware acceleration for video playback on the browser, display scaling on external monitor and so on.

You need new reasons to hate Linux, because all those issues were solved a while ago.

There is a reason why 1) people whose main environment is Linux feel (correctly) that these problems have been solved a long time ago, and 2) people whose main environment is not Linux but who try Linux occasionally feel (correctly) that these problems still occasionally crop up.

People whose main environment is Linux intentionally buy hardware that works flawlessly with Linux.

People who try Linux occasionally do it on whatever hardware they have, which still almost always works with Linux, but there are occasional issues with sketchy Windows-only hardware or insufficiently tested firmware or flaky wifi cards, and that is enough for there to be valid anecdotes in any given comments section with several people saying they tried it and it isn't perfect. Because "perfect" is a very high bar.

Re: The Windows Subsystem for Linux is now open source

#386

Post by johannes1234321 »

evanjrowley wrote: post #210
baq wrote: post #165

Earlier quoted context omitted.

openssh has been an optional windows component for... almost a decade now? including the server, so you can ssh into powershell as easily as into any unix-like. (last time I set it up there was some fiddling with file permissions required for key auth to work, but it does work.)

OpenSSH on Windows is great for the odd connection and SFTP session, but I still feel strongly that any serious usage should just stick with PuTTY and WinSCP. The GUI capabilities these provide are what Windows users are used to. The only benefit of built-in SSH is if you're working with some minimal image stuff, like Windows Server Core or Tiny11. IMHO.

imo the interesting part in opensssh into Windows.

Re: The Windows Subsystem for Linux is now open source

#387

Post by loloquwowndueo »

whoopdedo wrote: post #235
avestura wrote: post #114

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Microsoft can't name a project leading with a trademark (Linux ), hence why it's called WSL. Source: https://x.com/richturn_ms/status/1245481405947076610?s=19

IBM marketed "OS/2 for Windows" which made it sound like a compatibility layer to make Windows behave like OS/2. In truth it was the OS/2 operating system with drivers and conversion tools that made it easier for people who were used to Windows.

Untrue. OS/2 for windows leveraged the user’s existing copy of windows for os/2’s compatibility function instead of relying on a bundled copy of windows, like the “full” Os/2 version.

Os/2 basically ran a copy of windows (either the existing one or bundled one) to then execute windows programs side by side with os/2 (and DOS) software.

Re: The Windows Subsystem for Linux is now open source

#388

Post by Dylan16807 »

alex_smart wrote: post #153
Flamentono2 wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think you might want to give more context. I use linux. I don't need WSL at all. Not at work nor at home. So you praise WSL because you use Windows as your main system? Than yes its great. It definitly makes the Windows experience a lot better. OpenSSH for Windows was also a game changer. Honestly, i have no clue why Microsoft needed so long for that.

https://xkcd.com/963/

On the other hand sometimes the GUI on WSL decides to break and you have to restart the whole thing.

Re: The Windows Subsystem for Linux is now open source

#389

Post by loloquwowndueo »

asim wrote: post #366

Wow. In 2009, when it looked like Microsoft was the most closed company of all time, I was telling people at work, they should port windows to the linux kernel. What happened over the next 15 years, I don't think people would have believed it if you told them back then. Things have changed.. ALOT. Now granted, this isn't what I said they should do, but you know, eventually they might see the light.

Never see anything Microsoft does in the direction of open source as “they have seen the light”. It’s a trap. Claiming open source friendliness is the bait, Windows is the trap itself.

Re: The Windows Subsystem for Linux is now open source

#390

Post by edoceo »

wpm wrote: post #381
yndoendo wrote: post #297

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My development is mainly Windows and I prefer Linux host with Windows VM guests. The experience is more stable and I can revert to a snapshot when Windows or Microsoft product update brakes something or new test configuration does. It also allows to backup and retain multiple QA environments that are rarely used, like a client's Oracle DB. It is nice being able to save the VM state at the end of the week and shut it…

> Windows has known issues of waking a sleeping laptop. Doesn't Linux as well?

I'm on Lenovo Yoga 6, Gentoo, 6.12 kernel, 4.20 Xfce. Sleeps works perfect. Same on my Asus+AMD desktop. I've not had sleep related issues for years. And last time I did, it was an out-of-tree Wifi driver causing the whole mess.
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