7 ms·

One thing I have been thinking about: shouldn’t it be named Linux subsystem for Windows?

• soneil 4y ago
  It's a horrible name that should never have been used externally, but it makes sense if you're familiar with the NT architecture. There's various environment subsystems for win32, os/2, unix, and now linux. If you look at the graphic at the top of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Architecture_of_Windows_NT https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Architecture_of_Windows_NT it makes sense. But the fact that it needs this in order to make sense, is why it shouldn't have survived as a product name.
  • ha8gda8gs11 4y ago
    That's incorrect, they are not using any of the environment systems for WSL. WSL uses pico processes: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/archive/blogs/wsl/windows-subsystem-for-linux-overview https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/archive/blogs/wsl/windows-... https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/archive/blogs/wsl/pico-process-overview https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/archive/blogs/wsl/pico-pro...
    • anderspitman 4y ago
      That's WSL1. This 1.0.0 announcement is about WSL2, which is based on Hyper-V VMs. As mentioned by others, the naming is quite confusing.
      • ha8gda8gs11 4y ago
        Correct, I should have been more clear. And to add to that -- WSL2 doesn't use any of the subsystems either.
• shagmin 4y ago
  Between my current pre-coffee state and working with WSL2... seeing version 1.0.0 released I actually thought for a moment this meant the ability to run Windows as a subsystem on a Linux machine or something.
  • trashtester 4y ago
    I run wsl inside windows inside linux/KVM.
    • anderspitman 4y ago
      Same. I'm working on some software for Docker Desktop on Windows, but I run windows on KVM. Turtles all the way down.
• pionar 4y ago
  It's a subsystem _of_ Windows _for_ Linux
  • icedchai 4y ago
    You could also say it's Linux for (meaning: running on) Windows. The naming is very ambiguous.
• makapuf 4y ago
  I actually had sole hopes of a windows subsystem for linux reading the title, wondering about the link with Wine...
• aidenn0 4y ago
  It is a windows-subsystem for Linux programs. https://xkcd.com/37/ https://xkcd.com/37/
• bitwize 4y ago
  They can't call it that because of trademark issues. Linux is trademarked, so Microsoft can't call anything of theirs "Linux something" without a license, just like third-party software vendors can't call anything "Windows something". However, some leeway is permitted for calling your thing "something for Windows" or "something for Linux". Someone high up at the FSF called the first WSL "GNU/kWindows". Probably the best name of all.
  • kgeist 4y ago
    >Someone high up at the FSF called the first WSL "GNU/kWindows" What does "k" stand for?
    • bitwize 4y ago
      Kernel. By analogy with e.g., GNU/kFreeBSD, i.e., a GNU runtime on a FreeBSD kernel, which Debian actually made a distro for once.
      • Brian_K_White 4y ago
        I actually love that. It sounds over the top Stallman but the argument for that name actually holds water.