
Getting Crazy with Windows Subsystem for Linux - bketelsen
https://brianketelsen.com/getting-crazy-with-windows-subsystem-for-linux/?utm=none-hn-bketelsen
======
nickjj
Going down a different containerized route, if you use Docker for this you
won't even need a separate WSL installation for each project but you'll still
get your own container based isolation with an "open terminal and start
coding!" work flow.

WSL plays nicely with Docker for Windows[0].

At this point Windows running Docker connected through WSL offers me a more
productive Linux development environment than running Linux natively (mainly
because certain apps I depend on don't run on Linux).

I've been running this set up for months and it's super solid.

[0]: [https://nickjanetakis.com/blog/setting-up-docker-for-
windows...](https://nickjanetakis.com/blog/setting-up-docker-for-windows-and-
wsl-to-work-flawlessly)

~~~
bketelsen
I really like your blog layout/theme. Clean and readable. Have you tried
mounting code from WSL into a docker container and using vim/emacs in a shell
in docker?

~~~
nickjj
Thanks for the kind words about the blog layout.

I keep my source code outside of WSL's file system because I don't trust it
yet.

It's then mounted into WSL and Docker for Windows. Docker volume mounts work
fine with that set up.

I don't use vim/emacs but running them straight in WSL should be fine. I
wouldn't think to run vim/emacs directly inside of the container (because I
try to adhere to the "1 container, 1 process" best practice) but in theory it
would work no problem.

In this WSL set up article[0] I go over installing Sublime Text within WSL and
using MobaXterm as an X server. It runs lightning fast.

[0]: [https://nickjanetakis.com/blog/using-wsl-and-mobaxterm-to-
cr...](https://nickjanetakis.com/blog/using-wsl-and-mobaxterm-to-create-a-
linux-dev-environment-on-windows)

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1_player
Is it just me or should it have been named the other way around? This is a
Linux Subsystem for Windows (just like there is/was a POSIX subsystem for
Windows).

I thought this was an official WINE-like layer for Linux.

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j0hnml
I see what you mean and understand the confusion. Though I think it is called
what it is because it is a distinct _Windows subsystem_ , with various kernel
drivers and modules, that are _for_ Linux processes. The substytem is still
Windows (using Pico providers and processes), and so it is therefore not a
“Linux Subsystem”.

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stcredzero
Has WSL gotten more stable? I found it unusable when it first came out.

~~~
bketelsen
OP here (disclaimer, I work for Microsoft, but I'm a Linux and Mac guy on the
Azure team). Yes, it really has. Originally many things didn't work, node,
redis, others wouldn't even run. Now I can't find anything that won't run at
all and my only complaint overall is that disk IO is a little slower than on
the Windows side of things. Overall it's really nice. Zero changes to my
Ubuntu dotfiles.

~~~
cVwEq
nmap doesn't work, as one example.

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poizan42
It's also quite special as it needs raw socket access (doesn't it work in
connect() mode though?), it is on the backlog though as I understand.

Other things that won't work are fuse and VPN's and loading arbitrary kernel
drivers (it's surprising how many people don't seem to get that it only
implements userland compatibility)

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wakkaflokka
I love WSL, but really want GPU passthrough support in the future.

~~~
thomastjeffery
The trouble is: it's not a VM, so what you are asking for is not _passthrough_
, but _driver_ support.

