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Re: WSL keeps getting better, and it's because Microsoft is finally?? admitting where developers want to be

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Robert Heller <heller@deepsoft.com> writes:
> At Sun, 5 Jul 2026 15:12:44 +0200 "Carlos E. R." wrote:
>> On 2026-07-05 14:41, Robert Heller wrote:
>>> Wondering if Microsoft is looking to do what Apple did with MacOSX
>>> -- move from their own propriatory kernel to an open source kernel
>>> (and base O/S infrastructure) with a propriatory GUI layer on
>>> top...

Personally I doubt it. I don’t think they perceive any likely benefit
from open-sourcing the Windows kernel, and inserting some other kernel
under the Windows ABI seems like a great deal of work for dubious
benefit.

>>> The only "weirdness" (to me) about the WSL is why? Is microsoft
>>> trying to entice Linux user (partitularly developers) away from
>>> Linux? The WSL is not going to appeal to the "typical" MS-Windows
>>> user (or if the "typical" MS-Windows user starts using the WSL,
>>> they might decide to just install Linux and move on. Developers
>>> already on Linux are not going to install MS-Windows just to use
>>> WSL. And no, doing that just to build MS-Windows versions of Linux
>>> programs is not really a reason -- there exist tools to cross-build
>>> on Linux targeting MS-Windows.
>> 
>> Can they build applications that run on the WSL transparently?

Yes. Linux applications run transparently on the Windows desktop.

>> Just click an icon on the desktop or a menu entry, and it fires away?

You can make that work, yes.

>> Those same applications could also run on Linux proper.

WSL _is_ “Linux proper”, running in a VM.

> It depends on the program load infrastructure.  Eg is WSL on
> MS-Windows like WINE on Linux?  (Does WSL provide a system call
> wrapper library?)

No, it’s not like WINE.

(The first version was somewhat ‘like WINE’, albeit emulating the target
platform at a different layer. But that has been abandoned now; today
WSL is Linux in a VM, with very good host integration.)

> Does the build tools under WSL produce Linux ELF binaries or native
> MS-Windows binaries (which is what the mingwin toolchain running under
> linux produces).  It would of course be true that the WSL application
> *source code* would also build on a Linux machine and then run under
> Linux,

It’s just Linux, executables are built using exactly the same versions
of exactly the same tools you use on Ubuntu, Debian, etc.

-- 
https://www.greenend.org.uk/rjk/

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WSL keeps getting better, and it's because Microsoft is finally admitting where developers want to be rbowman <bowman@montana.com> - 2026-07-04 18:23 +0000
  Re: WSL keeps getting better, and it's because Microsoft is finally? admitting where developers want to be Robert Heller <heller@deepsoft.com> - 2026-07-04 18:41 +0000
    Re: WSL keeps getting better, and it's because Microsoft is finally? admitting where developers want to be Nuno Silva <nunojsilva@invalid.invalid> - 2026-07-05 00:36 +0100
      Re: WSL keeps getting better, and it's because Microsoft is finally? admitting where developers want to be c186282 <c186282@nnada.net> - 2026-07-05 01:31 -0400
        Re: WSL keeps getting better, and it's because Microsoft is finally? admitting where developers want to be Charlie Gibbs <cgibbs@kltpzyxm.invalid> - 2026-07-05 18:07 +0000
          Re: WSL keeps getting better, and it's because Microsoft is finally? admitting where developers want to be rbowman <bowman@montana.com> - 2026-07-05 18:15 +0000
          Re: WSL keeps getting better, and it's because Microsoft is finally? admitting where developers want to be Rich <rich@example.invalid> - 2026-07-05 19:11 +0000
          Re: WSL keeps getting better, and it's because Microsoft is finally? admitting where developers want to be Nuno Silva <nunojsilva@invalid.invalid> - 2026-07-06 00:54 +0100
        Re: WSL keeps getting better, and it's because Microsoft is finally? admitting where developers want to be Rich <rich@example.invalid> - 2026-07-05 19:08 +0000
    Re: WSL keeps getting better, and it's because Microsoft is finally admitting where developers want to be Lawrence D’Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> - 2026-07-05 00:02 +0000
      Re: WSL keeps getting better, and it's because Microsoft is finally admitting where developers want to be c186282 <c186282@nnada.net> - 2026-07-05 02:00 -0400
        Re: WSL keeps getting better, and it's because Microsoft is finally admitting where developers want to be Rich <rich@example.invalid> - 2026-07-05 19:17 +0000
          Re: WSL keeps getting better, and it's because Microsoft is finally admitting where developers want to be rbowman <bowman@montana.com> - 2026-07-06 00:30 +0000
            Re: WSL keeps getting better, and it's because Microsoft is finally admitting where developers want to be The Natural Philosopher <tnp@invalid.invalid> - 2026-07-06 12:42 +0100
      Re: WSL keeps getting better, and it's because Microsoft is finally admitting where developers want to be "Carlos E. R." <robin_listas@es.invalid> - 2026-07-05 13:35 +0200
        Re: WSL keeps getting better, and it's because Microsoft is finally? admitting where developers want to be Robert Heller <heller@deepsoft.com> - 2026-07-05 12:41 +0000
          Re: WSL keeps getting better, and it's because Microsoft is finally? admitting where developers want to be "Carlos E. R." <robin_listas@es.invalid> - 2026-07-05 15:12 +0200
            Re: WSL keeps getting better, and it's because Microsoft is finally?? admitting where developers want to be Robert Heller <heller@deepsoft.com> - 2026-07-05 13:55 +0000
              Re: WSL keeps getting better, and it's because Microsoft is finally?? admitting where developers want to be Richard Kettlewell <invalid@invalid.invalid> - 2026-07-05 15:11 +0100
                Re: WSL keeps getting better, and it's because Microsoft is finally?? admitting where developers want to be rbowman <bowman@montana.com> - 2026-07-05 18:49 +0000
              Re: WSL keeps getting better, and it's because Microsoft is finally?? admitting where developers want to be Lawrence D’Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> - 2026-07-05 23:42 +0000
            Re: WSL keeps getting better, and it's because Microsoft is finally? admitting where developers want to be rbowman <bowman@montana.com> - 2026-07-05 18:47 +0000
          Re: WSL keeps getting better, and it's because Microsoft is finally? admitting where developers want to be rbowman <bowman@montana.com> - 2026-07-05 18:39 +0000
          Re: WSL keeps getting better, and it's because Microsoft is finally? admitting where developers want to be Nuno Silva <nunojsilva@invalid.invalid> - 2026-07-06 00:44 +0100
            Re: WSL keeps getting better, and it's because Microsoft is finally? admitting where developers want to be Charlie Gibbs <cgibbs@kltpzyxm.invalid> - 2026-07-06 17:50 +0000
        Re: WSL keeps getting better, and it's because Microsoft is finally admitting where developers want to be Lawrence D’Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> - 2026-07-05 21:47 +0000
          Re: WSL keeps getting better, and it's because Microsoft is finally admitting where developers want to be "Carlos E. R." <robin_listas@es.invalid> - 2026-07-06 13:10 +0200
  Re: WSL keeps getting better, and it's because Microsoft is finally admitting where developers want to be John Ames <commodorejohn@gmail.com> - 2026-07-06 09:33 -0700
    Re: WSL keeps getting better, and it's because Microsoft is finally admitting where developers want to be rbowman <bowman@montana.com> - 2026-07-06 18:59 +0000
      Re: WSL keeps getting better, and it's because Microsoft is finally admitting where developers want to be John Ames <commodorejohn@gmail.com> - 2026-07-06 12:43 -0700

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