At Build 2016 developer conference earlier last year, Microsoft surprised everyone when it opened the Windows 10 operating system to integrate an Ubuntu-based Bash shell right into the platform. It has steadily been upgrading the Windows Subsystem for Linux by adding more feature atop the existing framework. Today, Microsoft took center stage at this year’s Build conference to reveal that it is not stepping back and is instead doubling down on its efforts for the same.
With the next major Windows 10 Fall Creators Update, the Redmond giant is adding support for another two of the most popular Linux distributions to the operating system. Suse Linux and Fedora will very soon be suppored on Windows Subsystem for Linux, developers who’re also Insiders (Fast or Slow Ring) will be able to get a taste of the two integrations before anyone else. This decision has been made after witnessing the enthusiasm for the existing Bash integration and for the ease of the devloper community.
The process for installation of any one of the distributions still continues to remain the same. You will first have to flip the switch to support Linux in the developer mode under the settings menu. Once through, you will be able to run Ubuntu, Suse or Fedora in a virtualized environment side by side with Windows. The command line instead of working under Windows will convert into a Bash shell and support utlilities available with the complete installation — even COM port support. These Linux distros will also work on the recently released Windows 10 S, thus, proving extremely beneficial for students interested in coding.
In addition to the introduction of several new Linux distributions to the operating system, the Redmond giant is also simplifying the installation process for these. On stage today, it also announced that Ubuntu is coming to the Windows Store. This will enable you to directly install Bash on Ubuntu for Windows, coupled with all necessary tools, without having to jump through several hoops of codes.
Microsoft is presently working to bring Suse and Fedora to the Windows Store to further simplify the needs of developers. It is also necessary because you will soon have the choice of installing different Linux distros, but also jumping between them. This also makes Windows 10 the only platform, as it is now delivered as a service, capable of running both Windows and Linux apps side-by-side.
