wsl install AlmaLinux-10 will directly download and install that distribution.

I'm using it a lot. It's good.

I'm still using a separate x-server for graphical programmes, rather than the built in wayland server. But that's barely an issue - Mobaxterm is excellent.

Adding layers of complexity for no reason at all is contraindicated. To say nothing of the security implications.

Consider: By your definition, I'm a Linux guy. I have Linux machines. I'll do my Linux development on Linux, TYVM.

To be fair, I do some of my Linux development on BSD, but then I do some of my BSD development on Linux, so ...

I guess, you as the Linux guy, create a dev environment for the website devs, who might not be Linux people.

I totally agree. It’s a ridiculous idea. Just like forcing software people to use windows machines (because….f%#* knows) so they then have to run Linux in a VM just so they can do the bloody job they’re being paid to do. But because windows already chews through so much processing resource for reasons nobody seems to have any answer for, you’re lucky if you can assign more than a couple of the zillion cores your cpu has to Linux. So it runs like an arthritic slug. And then you have to make sure the VM is shut down every night just in case windows decides to f&@%ing reboot in the meantime, trashing your VM. And you also have to spend the first few weeks tweaking shit you really shouldn’t have to just so the VM runs acceptably - like killing-off f%#+ing Hyper-V (that’s a challenge in itself).

Windows is a shite platform for running windows programs. Why using it to run a whole Linux OS seems a good idea is totally beyond the mind of any sane person. I don’t even consider myself sane and I can’t fathom it either!

Yeah cause running something Linux inside Windows screams stability. To start with Windows not only willl force updates but may also reboot without permission.

It's like you have a fetish for being surveilled, but you also like Linux.

Windows brings your personal Stasi, sorry Copilot handler to breath down your neck as you navigate through perilous abyss of Linux terminal.

Surely better in 99.99% of scenarios just to eliminate Windows from the picture completely. If you develop on a laptop then lots of good ones run Linux easily. If you need a separate web server on your local network, a pure Linux box can be commissioned for bobbins - think Raspberry Pi or an Intel NUC.

Indeed if you’re into this stuff anyway you will somehow amass a large collection of perfectly serviceable hardware that will do just fine for loading up Linux and doing whatever. With the great W10 chuck out coming soon, free hardware will be throwing itself upon you if you even slightly hint that you can fix a computer, including wiping disks before it hits landfill (use Boot and Nuke). Take the disk out before you throw the rest out, it WILL come in handy someday (honest). I’m gonna have to cull my computer graveyard soon as I’m struggling to get my feet under my desk!

Unless you have some insane corporate policy stating you have to use windows. In every situation just develop in Linux to run on a Linux server. You free up most of the computer memory and resources, only need to run what is required, and testing on your local machine can match the deployment.

If you have to use windows, question why you are still working in a company that mandates you develop in one operating system to deploy in another?

Alternatively, just run everything in docker containers and deploy an equivalent setup as your production system? At least this complexity would be scripted, repeatable and deployable on your test and production systems. With the bonus that all Devs would be working in the same manner.

The sooner Microsoft concede and Windows becomes a Linux desktop environment with a wine alternative to support legacy systems the better.

A windows sub system for Linux to let us get over the short term hurdle of porting code to Linux would be more useful.

I’m getting vibes that MS office apps are going web, like Google apps. Only they will suck because Google wrote their apps from scratch for web and MS didn’t. And then there’s nothing to stop Windows becoming a web first OS like ChromeOS.

Or we can all ditch Windows and go Linux. Yay!

Hey, I think there are better ways to run a Linux-based local web development environment in Windows using WSL 2.!

Super smart folks have been working on docker-based container systems for Windows for over a decade, and the options that WSL 2 makes possible are now really, really good.

Whether you want to write code directly in WSL, or code in Windows and have the files served up to your browser via WSL, the latest tools will set it all up for you. And they have tons of documentation, and support forums or Slack channels for help.

For example, I use Lando. Other folks swear by DDEV. Both of these are excellent tools with simple installation instructions: sometimes just a single line run in a Terminal. And they offer specific configuration options intended to help WordPress users get a local environment set up and synchronized with a remote server.

Folks who are determined to stick with Windows, but want the best of what Linux has to offer, might want to check those out.

Dev Containers (https://containers.dev/) is a more straightforward set of these instructions. Declare what you want your environment to have in it (Web server, language SDKs etc) and then that config is also in your source code. Runs isolated from other sites you're building too so less chance of version mismatches.

[1]"Here's a nickel kid" . Mine has "UNIX Power Utilities" in the pocket >>====>

[1] https://github.com/torvalds/linux/blob/master/include/math-emu/double.h#L29

"Original from Dilbert?"

June 1995 pretty early in the life of Linux so refers to Unix.

Archive.org copy of the [1]Dilbert Cartoon

Rather amusing that Scott Adams transgressions now seem inconsequential compared the current US shit show which decidedly does have consequences.

Only amusing if you don't reside in the US, I suppose.

[1] https://ia601605.us.archive.org/view_archive.php?archive=/23/items/dilbert-1989-2023-complete.-7z_202303/Dilbert_1989-2023_complete.7z&file=1995%2F1995-06-24_computer%20holy%20wars_scruffy%20beard_suspenders_smug%20expression_unix%20computer%20user_nickel_better%20computer_holy%20wars.gif

This is a strange article for the reg. There are thousands of blog postings, etc out there for anyone who needs help getting code running locally, regardless of OS, and most of them would give simpler advice than this - for example, use Docker rather than creating a pet environment manually

A telling insight into the world of Windoze clicky-clicky, point 'n' grunt. Pretty sure the sequence was shortened anyway ;)

Why on Earth would anyone go through this instead of doing their dev work with Docker?

Or failing that, run a VM using something like Virtualbox, which is free?

I think Docker on Windows actually runs under a minimal virtual machine (Hyper-V?) pretty much as WSL-2 does if I am not mistaken.

So not a great difference either way I suppose.

If you were deploying to a container in production you might attempt to run the same container environment on your PC even Docker or Podman under Linux under WSL. ;)

I guess the idea was for web dev types that aren't exactly the full bottle † on Linux distributions or system admin tasks generally, to follow a set of steps to setup an AL9 environment on their Windows PC where they can test their deployment before screwing up production.

Any of the commentards here would just run replicas of the production environments on an old box or as VMs on their Proxmox server. ;)

† and that's being generous in my experience.

WSL2 is a virtual machine, it's an interface to the hypervisor that's already built-in to Windows 10 onwards. So no extra licensing required - unlike VirtualBox which is a mix of free and (optional) expensive licence required parts.

It simply automates installation and mounting of your Windows partition and Linux virtual hard disk(s) in both directions.

It has a few limitations, main one that hit me was that by default it gets a black box NAT network connection in 172.23 that only supports TCP.

It does appear to be possible to replace that NAT with something configurable, though at that point it's starting to lose its shine and perhaps no longer a good solution.

The other limitation is that you are stuck with the Windows UI. On this corporate Windows desktop I've retreated to running in Hyper-V so I can have a KDE desktop. Would like the WSL network mirroring.

I think this is a bit OTT for many situations. Wampserver is possibly good enough for many devs.

Much easier option: wipe Windblows from the box and install a real OS like Ubuntu, Redhat, LMDE 6, or Debian.

As an added bonus you won't have "Recall" sending screenshots of everything you do to Microsquishy for law enforcement perusal.