The Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) is a great solution for developers to natively work within Linux right on their Windows 10 version desktop. WSL lets developers run a GNU/Linux environment – including most command-line tools, utilities, and applications – directly on Windows, unmodified, without the overhead of a virtual machine. After some surprisingly super-easy setup, this gives you a truly native POSIX / Unix-like environment directly integrated into your Windows PC, essentially negating a vast majority of issues people had previously with workarounds like dual booting, VMing or terminal wrappers like CYGWIN or Git Bash. According to Microsoft, WSL requires fewer resources (CPU, memory, and storage) than a full virtual machine while also allowing users to use Windows apps and Linux tools on the same set of files. In this article I’m covering some background on WSL and show how to get started.
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