this post was submitted on 13 Sep 2024
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Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).

Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.

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I have a friend thats setting up linux (ubuntu) on his machine. He has a windows installation. I personally use mac as my primary OS, but I've had a linux partition on my machine as well, and I'm having a slightly hard time giving him good advice as to what solution he should choose when setting up linux (I don't even know how I would partition a disk on a windows machine to prep it for dual booting).

My question is quite simple: What are the pros/cons of WSL vs. Dual Booting vs. Virtualbox, both with regards to setup and with regards to usage?

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[–] Kangie@aussie.zone 12 points 1 month ago (1 children)

WSL2 is "fine". It has some performance issues when accessing files on the windows side of things from sick

On a technical level it's a Linux VM running containers for Distributions that get some mounts and for WSLg a directx video device.

WSLg also provides an X server, Wayland compositor and a Pulse server so most gui apps "just work".

Good way to start learning or get a taste for things, and easier than a VM to get started.

[–] atzanteol@sh.itjust.works 2 points 1 month ago

You don't get the immersion of a new OS when you use wsl though. Which is fine if you just want some Linux compatibility for things like docker, but if you want the whole "desktop experience" then a VM is a better option. Either Hyper-V or VirtualBox will give you that with reasonable performance.