Microsoft turns Windows Subsystem for Linux into an app for Windows
- Reference: 1634022913
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2021/10/12/wsl_offered_as_app/
- Source link:
Turning WSL into an app may sound a little weird, given that the point of the software was to put Linux right in the heart of Windows so that penguinistas and developers didn't need to mess around with resource-munching virtual machines.
Microsoft's rationale for the change is that WSL and Windows are currently coupled: you can't upgrade the former without first updating the latter.
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"Traditionally, WSL has been installed as an optional component inside of Windows," wrote Craig Loewen, a Microsoft program manager on the Windows Developer Platform. "The actual binaries that make up WSL's logic in that optional component are part of the Windows image and are serviced and updated as part of Windows itself."
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Logically, then, decoupling WSL and Windows means Microsoft can update WSL more often – and so can you.
"So now once new features like GUI app support, GPU compute, and Linux file system drive mounting are developed, tested and ready for a release you will get access to it right away on your machine without needing to update your entire Windows OS, or going to Windows Insider preview builds," Loewen’s post explains.
[5]Windows 11 in detail: Incremental upgrade spoilt by onerous system requirements and usability mis-steps
[6]Yes, of course there's now malware for Windows Subsystem for Linux
[7]Microsoft loves Linux – as in, it loves Linux users running Linux desktop apps on Windows PCs
To reinforce Microsoft's point, Loewen points out that the preview version of WSL-as-app has added the following features not available in baked-in WSL:
[8]WSLg is now bundled as part of the WSL app.
New wsl.exe --mount features.
Add --mount --vhd to make mounting VHD files easier.
Implement filesystem detection for wsl --mount . This change implements filesystem type detection if no --type is specified when using wsl.exe --mount .
Add --name feature to wsl --mount . This change adds support for optionally naming a mountpoint when mounting a disk through WSL.
Updated Linux kernel to 5.10.60.1
Added progress indicator helper function used to show a Please Wait message with animated dots on the conversion process to show users that WSL is still running.
Switched wsl --install to not require the --distribution argument. This change switches wsl --install to not require the --distribution argument but maintains support to avoid breaking existing scripts.
Added wsl.exe --version command which displays relevant version information.
Loewen makes it plain that Microsoft will steer users to the WSL app.
"Our goals are to make WSL in the Microsoft Store the best way to install and use WSL … and in the long term we'd like to move WSL users to use the store version," his post states.
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Unhelpfully, Loewen did not define "the long term". He did, however, commit to Microsoft continuing to support WSL "as we keep developing WSL in the Store".
In the video below, he also addresses some other matters including WSL1 distro compatibility (spoiler: it's limited) and whether it is possible to uninstall WSL the app (yes) and revert to baked-in WSL. ®
[10]Youtube Video
Get our [11]Tech Resources
[1] https://devblogs.microsoft.com/commandline/a-preview-of-wsl-in-the-microsoft-store-is-now-available/
[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/oses&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2YWVczuCE1iUP6ymUvDe66wAAAIU&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/oses&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44YWVczuCE1iUP6ymUvDe66wAAAIU&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/oses&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33YWVczuCE1iUP6ymUvDe66wAAAIU&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[5] https://www.theregister.com/2021/10/05/windows_11_in_detail/
[6] https://www.theregister.com/2021/09/17/windows_subsystem_for_linux_malware/
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2021/04/22/windows_linux_gui/
[8] https://aka.ms/wslg
[9] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/oses&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44YWVczuCE1iUP6ymUvDe66wAAAIU&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[10] https://youtu.be/nVxYFMa1ltM
[11] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Re: Found a shortcut
Removed all Micro$oft rubbish, and installed Linux.
I did that more than 10 years ago.
What took you so long?
O.
Re: Found a shortcut
Some specialist apps only work on Windows and their manufacturers don't want to create Linux version, because "market is too small".
Re: Found a shortcut
Some specialist apps only work on Windows ...
Yes, quite true.
But that's exactly what VMs are for.
No need for all this WSL nonsense, it's just a solution for a non-existent problem.
O.
Re: Found a shortcut
Some apps won't work in VM environment (latency, needing access to hardware, dongles etc.).
Also with VM you are still running Windows in a VM.
Re: Found a shortcut
Wine and/or a VM that way round is sane.
Along with a support ticket each year to say "When are you compiling for linux"
So WSL can be an app
In that case, Windows 11 can be an app as well.
Actually, there are hardly any components of the OS that cannot be an app.
So Redmond no longer has the luxury of saying that something absolutely needs to be part of the OS (
Re: So WSL can be an app
This only shows that regulators are really scamming the tax payer. They take our money and do nothing.
Re: So WSL can be an app
There are no regulators. :-)
WSL-as-app
They are obviously determined to try absolutely anything to stop people doing a proper Linux installation and having dual-boot systems. VMs, WSL, WSL-as-app.... just don't ever let them discover what booting up Linux properly feels like, in case people start to question whether having Windows is all that necessary and find themselves choosing the Linux option more frequently and finding free alternatives to paid for Windows applications.
They could make Linux dual boot an ultra easy one click option if they wanted. But they really don't want.
Re: WSL-as-app
I'm suspecting this is the reason for all the UEFI/Secure Boot f**kwittery in Windows 11. Make it harder for the plebs to gain their freedom by dual booting.
Corporate enviroments
Having just moved to a corporate environment and away from my nice Mac working one I am now on a Windows desktop and WSL is a godsend.
This is really the market that WSL is aimed at I think not the hobbyists but the Dev teams that are all in on Cloud and need the toolchain but at the same time need to follow corporate policy, this will probably take a good year to roll out to me as well. :(
Re: Corporate enviroments
Just out of interest what stops you SSHing into a separate Linux machine, VPS or VM as most dev teams would (no matter what their desktop OS)? Given the variable support for WSLg (which would be very useful to roll out Linux apps to Windows users and I've always suspected was the final intention) I'm guessing most people are only using WSL for command line stuff at the moment, which in my experience causes more issues than it solves compared to just SSHing to a real computer (where's the file system gone, why can't I connect to the IP address, how have the permissions got mangled etc)?
Can I now dump Cygwin?
and run all my shell scripts in WSL?
(just dreaming I suppose)
Re: Can I now dump Cygwin?
Yep!
Re: Can I now dump Cygwin?
If your distro of choice is supported yes. However actual apps.... not so much at the moment. :-)
Found a shortcut
I have eliminated the middle-man: Removed all Micro$oft rubbish, and installed Linux