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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

#531

Post by zeppelin101 »

bigfatkitten wrote: post #525
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.

I really want to like Windows 11, and I enjoy using WSL, but Microsoft treats me too much like an adversary for me to tolerate it as a daily driver. Only a complete scumbag of a product manager would think pushing Candy Crush ads is a good idea. I’ve got an airgapped Toughbook that I use for the few Windows apps I really need to talk to strange hardware.

I suggest looking into Windows LTSC. It has solved most of the annoyances for me.

Re: The Windows Subsystem for Linux is now open source

#532

Post by krferriter »

jchw wrote: post #56
elif wrote: post #7

Every time I praise WSL on hn I pay the karma tax but I will die on this hill. WSL is more powerful than Linux because of how easy it is to run multiple OS on the same computer simultaneously. It's as powerful as Linux with some janky custom local docker wrappers for device support, local storage mapping, and network mapping. Except it's not janky at all. It's an absolute delight to use, out of the box, on a desktop…

"More powerful than Linux" is silly. It's a VM. The most useful thing is that it does a bunch of convenience features for you. I am not suggesting that it is not extremely convenient, but it's not somehow more powerful than just using Linux. You know what's even more convenient than a VM? Not needing a VM and still having the exact same functionality. And you don't need a bunch of janky wrapper scripts, there's more…

It's a VM plus some usability automation. Can't ignore the usability benefits.

Re: The Windows Subsystem for Linux is now open source

#533

Post by sureglymop »

Aurornis wrote: post #295
liendolucas wrote: post #107

I would do it the other way round: use Windows in a virtual machine from Linux. If you are in Windows and have the urge to use Linux, do the proper switch once and for all. You will never look back. I haven't in almost 15 years. Given what Windows has become and already discussed here on HN I would even hesitate to run it in a virtual machine. Edit: more than 15 years.

> I would do it the other way round: use Windows in a virtual machine from Linux. Every Windows thread on HN is a reminder of the stark divide between people who need to use Windows for productivity apps and those who don’t. The apps I need a Windows machine for are not the kind that virtualize nicely. Anything GPU related means Windows has to become the base OS for me. If you’re running an occasional light tool you…

Windows in a vm with a passed through GPU is really nice. Although still pretty niche these days it's easier than it used to be. It also works with a single GPU, e.g. on a laptop.

I personally have a desktop PC with an AMD GPU and then another Nvidia GPU that I pass through to windows hosts. I have a hook that changes the display output and switches the inputs using evdev.

Re: The Windows Subsystem for Linux is now open source

#534

Post by selfhoster »

elif wrote: post #7

Every time I praise WSL on hn I pay the karma tax but I will die on this hill. WSL is more powerful than Linux because of how easy it is to run multiple OS on the same computer simultaneously. It's as powerful as Linux with some janky custom local docker wrappers for device support, local storage mapping, and network mapping. Except it's not janky at all. It's an absolute delight to use, out of the box, on a desktop…

> WSL is more powerful than Linux because of how easy it is to run multiple OS on the same computer simultaneously.

I do that with KVM too, and each has their own kernel, not one shared kernel made and controlled by one vendor.

Re: The Windows Subsystem for Linux is now open source

#535

Post by nobody9999 »

rao-v wrote: post #186
elif wrote: post #7

Every time I praise WSL on hn I pay the karma tax but I will die on this hill. WSL is more powerful than Linux because of how easy it is to run multiple OS on the same computer simultaneously. It's as powerful as Linux with some janky custom local docker wrappers for device support, local storage mapping, and network mapping. Except it's not janky at all. It's an absolute delight to use, out of the box, on a desktop…

I'm with you - after years of messing with dualboot Linux, including (foolishly) running multiday Gentoo builds, WSL + Windows now gives me everything I want from Linux with zero friction. In fact, I'm a little annoyed that I can't get a comparably smooth experience on my MacBook without spinning up a full QEMU VM. I know it's a bit hypocritical since, like most people, I run WSL2 (which is container/VM-based), not W…

> WSL1 (the original magic syscall translation vision).

Actually, the OG "magic syscall translation" is Cygwin[0], which dates back to 1995[1].

[0] https://cygwin.com

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cygwin

Edit: Fixed prose.

Re: The Windows Subsystem for Linux is now open source

#536

Post by FateOfNations »

Boogie_Man wrote: post #368

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

A "Windows Subsystem" is a concept that dates back to the original Windows NT line of operating systems. Historically, there've been a number of supported "Windows Subsystems", essentially APIs for the kernel. In Windows NT 3.1, there were multiple subsystems: Win32, POSIX, and OS/2, plus a separate one specifically for security.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_POSIX_subsystem

While WSL2 isn't implemented as an architectural sub-system (it uses a VM instead), WSL1 was far closer to the original architecture, providing a Linux compatible API for the Windows kernel.

Re: The Windows Subsystem for Linux is now open source

#537

Post by ozgrakkurt »

jjcm wrote: post #151

When WSL came out I was absolutely overjoyed - finally an actual linux shell on windows! I use windows for my gaming pc, and I wanted to have a unified gaming/dev box. It felt like the solution. Over time though more and more small issues with it came up. Packages working not quite right, issues with the barriers between the two, etc. It always felt like there was a little bit more friction with the process. With Val…

I had the same experience. Even installing linux is easier for me now. And with new spyware features of windows, there is really no incentive to use it

Re: The Windows Subsystem for Linux is now open source

#538

Post by ozgrakkurt »

zamadatix wrote: post #323
nickserv wrote: post #244

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just curious, which games gave you problems?

Unfortunately many of the more popular multiplayer games with anti-cheat tend to consider "made working on Linux" a bug rather than a feature. E.g. Easy Anti-Cheat and Unreal Engine both support Linux natively but Epic still doesn't want to allow it for their own game, Fortnite. https://x.com/TimSweeneyEpic/status/1490565925648715781

Really hope valve’s server side anti-cheat will be a success and more competitive games will move over to that.

Re: The Windows Subsystem for Linux is now open source

#539

Post by amlib »

meta_ai_x wrote: post #392
jchw wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"More powerful than Linux" is silly. It's a VM. The most useful thing is that it does a bunch of convenience features for you. I am not suggesting that it is not extremely convenient, but it's not somehow more powerful than just using Linux. You know what's even more convenient than a VM? Not needing a VM and still having the exact same functionality. And you don't need a bunch of janky wrapper scripts, there's more…

Windows has many useful software that is not available on Linux. So, for me Windows + WSL is more productive than just using Linux. The UI is still better on Windows(basic utilities like File Explorer and Config Management is better on Windows). No Remoting Software beats RDP. When I remote to a Windows workstation through RDP, I can't tell the difference. VNC is always janky. Of course there is Word/Excel/Illustrato…

> No Remoting Software beats RDP. When I remote to a Windows workstation through RDP, I can't tell the difference. VNC is always janky

Any recent distro running Gnome or KDE has built-in support for connecting and hosting an RDP session. This used to be a pain point, you don't need to use VNC anymore.

It's actually worse on windows since you need to pony up for a pro license to get RDP hosting support...

Re: The Windows Subsystem for Linux is now open source

#540

Post by throwaway148773 »

jjcm wrote: post #151

When WSL came out I was absolutely overjoyed - finally an actual linux shell on windows! I use windows for my gaming pc, and I wanted to have a unified gaming/dev box. It felt like the solution. Over time though more and more small issues with it came up. Packages working not quite right, issues with the barriers between the two, etc. It always felt like there was a little bit more friction with the process. With Val…

Except if you're on Nvidia...
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