Giant technology firm, Microsoft, recently announced that it will soon introduce the revolutionary Bourne AgainShell (Bash) platform to its Windows operating system. In as much as this announcement has caught many people by surprise, it is causing a lot of excitement among content developers and tech lovers. Bash has for long been a customary feature on OS X and almost all Linux distribution systems. However, it has all along been the major challenge for developers who have been relying on Microsoft’s platform, PowerShell.
The most important aspect about the introduction of the platform is the fact that developers on the Windows platform will have the ability to create their own Bash scripts on the platform andedit their codes using Emacs. In addition, the new system will work through a newly introduced Linux subsystem, which will be available on Windows 10. This subsystem has been developed by Microsoft and Canonical.
The move has received widespread acclaim because it means that there will be a native accessibility of an entire Ubuntu platform on Windows 10 devices. The fact that there will be no simulation or virtualization is a huge step forward in the technological world. This milestone defies long established dogmas about the integration of the two platforms. More interestingly, it provides an enchanting getaway to a previously uncharted territory.
The Partnership is a Strategic Move
Many analysts see the venture by the two tech giants as a move to extendto a wider audience. Though it has also caught the analysts by surprise, they have expressed their delight and are keen on seeing the two firms come up with more joint ventures in the coming years. Such fruitful partnerships herald brighter things to come and pave the way for other firms to follow suit. It is however seen as a partnership of convenience because the two are strange bedfellows brought together by circumstances. Both are facing stiff competition from other operating systems.
Windows is being marketed as a platform targeting all developers and operating systems apart from its own; the best platform that can sufficiently accommodate all of them. For years, Microsoft was perceived to be a colossus in the technological world and it was hard to imagine that it would one day form partnerships with its business rivals, let alone Linux. The close association between the two companies has been attested further by the fact that Microsoft is currently supporting Linux on Azure. This has prompted speculation that most of the two firm’s technologies will be amalgamated in coming years; Microsoft’s may groundbreaker databank product, SQL Server, being brought over to Linux.
The move to publicizeMicrosoft’s addition of the Linux command to the Windows 10 operating system is also a strategy; it coincides with the Windows 10 Anniversary Update, which will be done this coming summer. The update will however be available to key figures at Microsoft much earlier. It will also act as a springboard for the announcement of more partnerships between the two firms. In addition, more shells might also be brought to the Windows platform with time but that is yet to be made public.
Installation and Usage of the Linux Bash Shell on Windows 10
The Bash Shell will be based on Ubuntu and will have the ability of running on Linux software and on the Windows platform. The advancement of a new platform known as Linux Subsystem for Windows has made this possible. Microsoft will add this new subsystem to windows. Apps and software developers who are using Windows 10 Insider Preview build can install and run the Linux Bash Shell by themselves and thereafter, start using it immediately.
Owing to the fact that the platform is still in its developmental stages, the feature will only be added on the Insider Preview build number 14316, which at the moment has only been availed on Fast Channel. Besides this, it will only be supported by devices with the 64-bit Windows 10 versions.
Important Points to Note about Windows 10’s Bash Shell
Contrary to popular belief, this platform is not a virtual machine in any way. Unlike Cygwin, Bash Shell is also not a vessel or software assembled by Linux for Windows. Global Internet magazine writers have been on the forefront advancing this claim. Instead, this is a Linux subsystem meant specifically for Windows 10. It is based on Project Astoria, which was supposed to enable Android apps and software to run on Windows.
The association between the two firms and Canonical is meant to offer a fully self-sufficient Bash shell that is based on Ubuntu. The shell itself will run on the subsystem. In a technical sense, this whole platform is not Linux by all means. Linux is instead the fundamental operating system grain. Users will run Bash Shell in the same manner with which they normally run the previous versions of Ubuntu Linux.
Lastly, Bash shell will not work with all types of server software. It will also not be compatible with graphical software. This is because it is meant for those developers who intend to run Linux-like functions on the Windows platform. The applications will have an exclusive access to Windows files. Users will however lack the ability to utilize Bash command-lines to program normal Windows drivers.
References
https://www.fusecrunch.com/
http://www.theverge.com/2016/3/30/11331014/microsoft-windows-linux-ubuntu-bash
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So does this mean that Microsoft plans to make the useful commands available as-well? Such as grep for example? Or basically the same thing as CMD but with bash scripting such as if or case statements?