While foundationally different from “ Bash on Ubuntu on Windows”, Cygwin is free software and provides a large set of GNU and Open Source tools that you can use as if you were on Linux, and a DLL that which contributes with substantial POSIX API functionality. However, Cygwin a well-known and widely-used Linux environment for Windows has been around for quite some time and has been extensively utilized by Linux pros whenever they’ve had the need to work on a Windows computer. Unfortunately, it will only be available in Windows 10 and not on previous versions. Without a doubt, when this feature reaches stable status and is available for everyone to use, it will be welcome with open arms – especially by FOSS professionals who work with technologies (Python, Ruby, etc) that are native to the Linux command line environment. During the last Microsoft Build Developer Conference held from March 30th to April 1st, Microsoft released an announcement and gave a presentation that surprised the industry: beginning with Windows 10 update #14136, it would be possible to run bash on Ubuntu on top of Windows.Īlthough this update has already been released by now, it is still in beta and is only available for insiders / developers and not for the public in general.
