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Deploying Linux apps on Windows Server is easier these days (Hyper-V). If you really need decent POSIX OS on Windows just use virtualiztion.

cwyers 11y ago
I'm sympathetic to people who want to develop portable GUI apps across Linux/Windows/OS X. If you're developing something like Inkscape or LibreOffice, most of your potential user base is on Windows and they are NOT going to install a Linux VM just to run your app. But yeah, there are a lot of people on HN who constantly post about how their work issued them a cat and they have all these tools they install on their cat to make it act more like a dog but it makes a really terrible dog anyway and so cats must be crap. Uh, it's a cat. If you need a dog, go get a dog. Or run a dog on Hyper-V if you need a dog and a cat at the same time. My favorite is when people talk about how their favorite scheme they use to get their dog to catch mice doesn't work for their cat, therefore it's evidence that cats are terrible at catching mice.
- markbnj 11y ago
  >> I'm sympathetic to people who want to develop portable GUI apps across Linux/Windows/OS X. I am too, but I wonder whether it is even a relevant goal anymore. It's one of those things that has always been a topic of conversation, and has never really happened in a way that a mass of end users has adopted. Everyone who ever ran a java desktop app on Windows back in the day probably has some theory of why, but I think it was mostly because there was never really a strong need on the user side, despite the idea being so attractive to devs. Now... I don't even know what the world of work is going to look like in ten years... Android? Windows? Linux? Mac? Tablet? Phone? Laptop? All of the above and more, I assume, and the whole interface portability thing seems to be heading down the exact same road that it headed down on the desktop, i.e. either write native or accept some lesser solution.
Sanddancer 11y ago
I disagree there. Just virtualizing means that you now have another machine that you have to audit, keep up to date, have disaster recovery procedures for, etc. Plus, if your potentially trivial app needs to run on multiple boxes, that just amplifies these costs.
the8472 11y ago
Things relying on cuda/opencl generally don't virtualize well, especially not with windows hosts. With Xen you could do GPU passthrough things, but even that isn't easy to setup.

cwyers 11y ago

I'm sympathetic to people who want to develop portable GUI apps across Linux/Windows/OS X. If you're developing something like Inkscape or LibreOffice, most of your potential user base is on Windows and they are NOT going to install a Linux VM just to run your app. But yeah, there are a lot of people on HN who constantly post about how their work issued them a cat and they have all these tools they install on their cat to make it act more like a dog but it makes a really terrible dog anyway and so cats must be crap. Uh, it's a cat. If you need a dog, go get a dog. Or run a dog on Hyper-V if you need a dog and a cat at the same time. My favorite is when people talk about how their favorite scheme they use to get their dog to catch mice doesn't work for their cat, therefore it's evidence that cats are terrible at catching mice.

markbnj 11y ago
>> I'm sympathetic to people who want to develop portable GUI apps across Linux/Windows/OS X. I am too, but I wonder whether it is even a relevant goal anymore. It's one of those things that has always been a topic of conversation, and has never really happened in a way that a mass of end users has adopted. Everyone who ever ran a java desktop app on Windows back in the day probably has some theory of why, but I think it was mostly because there was never really a strong need on the user side, despite the idea being so attractive to devs. Now... I don't even know what the world of work is going to look like in ten years... Android? Windows? Linux? Mac? Tablet? Phone? Laptop? All of the above and more, I assume, and the whole interface portability thing seems to be heading down the exact same road that it headed down on the desktop, i.e. either write native or accept some lesser solution.

Sanddancer 11y ago

I disagree there. Just virtualizing means that you now have another machine that you have to audit, keep up to date, have disaster recovery procedures for, etc. Plus, if your potentially trivial app needs to run on multiple boxes, that just amplifies these costs.

the8472 11y ago

Things relying on cuda/opencl generally don't virtualize well, especially not with windows hosts. With Xen you could do GPU passthrough things, but even that isn't easy to setup.