6 ms·

I always felt this was named incorrectly. It's not a Windows Subsystem for Linux operating systems, it's a Linux Subsystem for the Windows operating system.

• quotemstr 7y ago
  It's neither these days. It's a glorified VM.
• whereistimbo 7y ago
  It was an historical reason. WSL1 was named such because instead of using Linux kernel, Microsoft uses Windows NT subsystem to run Linux userland (hence Windows Subsystem for Linux). As WSL become a well known name, the next iteration (the one with the real Linux kernel) is simply named as WSL2.
  • Nullabillity 7y ago
    It was wrong then too.
    • skrebbel 7y ago
      No it wasn't, WSL1 is a Windows subsystem. For running Linux. I think "Windows Linux Subsystem" would've been more accurate, but it's also more confusing.
      • ASalazarMX 7y ago
        That's why "Linux Subsystem" would have been clear and straightforward. Just one more of Window's subsystems. Cramming "Windows" in the name is what makes it confusing.
  • JdeBP 7y ago
    It makes a little more sense if one regards it as always naming the thing that is missing, per https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11417059 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11417059 .
• hoistbypetard 7y ago
  It's the Windows Subsystem for (running) Linux.
  • ASalazarMX 7y ago
    WSfRL?
• ASalazarMX 7y ago
  It wholeheartedly agree with you, yet I suspect Microsoft would never name a product of theirs "Linux" first and "Windows" second. On the other hand, they named their 32-bit Windows emulator "WOW64 (Windows-on-Windows 64-bit).
• ssklash 7y ago
  Subsystem here is a reference to a Windows subsystem. There are many subsystems within Windows that handle various OS functions. In this case, a subsystem was created to handle running Linux.
• thrill 7y ago
  I'm waiting for the Datacenter Enterprise Pro Plus version.
• adrianmonk 7y ago
  It's phrased in a very confusing way, so it's a very poor choice of names, but I wouldn't go so far as saying incorrect. The preposition "for" has a lot of different meanings, and the one they've used, though extremely unexpected here, is legal. They mean it in the sense that it enables something, like in "tips for success" or "a budget for entertainment". This is a Windows subsystem, and what it's for is making Linux stuff available as a feature. In the context of computers, "for" commonly means targeting toward or being compatible with something, like "apps for iPhone". Which is not how they mean it. And which is why they should have chosen something different.
  • magicalhippo 7y ago
    It's maybe not incorrect, but it is inconsistent[1]. Traditionally they had the name of the non-native system first. So Win32 subsystem for running Windows 32bit applications, OS/2 subsystem for running OS/2 applications, POSIX subsystem for running POSIX applications etc. So had they been following this, it should have been called the Linux subsystem. [1]: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/previous-versions/windows/it-pro/windows-2000-server/cc939090 https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/previous-versions/windows/i...
• jasonjayr 7y ago
  Windows if full of weird names for it's subsystems if you look closely. The old installer had "Windows Executive" and "Human Interface Parser" as installation items that always had my head scratching