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Unix environment for Windows?

A reader writes:

"At the end of TYU24, you mention MKS as a Windows-based shell. I checked their website as an avenue of learning Unix/Linux without resorting to dual-boots, or multiple systems (I'm a little short on space to accomidate another tower, and short on cash to build a new micro). While they do offer evaluation versions, and educational discounts, they are still a little steep on the price range. Is there another package that may follow GPL (GNU Public License) or maybe a more cost effective package for home use?"

Dave's Answer: Yes, MKS went from being pretty darn cheap to being, well, pretty darn not cheap. In terms of alternatives, here are a couple worth checking out:

Cygwin: A DLL (cygwin1.dll) which acts as a Linux emulation layer providing substantial Linux API functionality, and a collection of tools, which provide Linux look and feel.
The Cygwin DLL works with all non-beta, non "release candidate", ix86 versions of Windows since Windows 95, with the exception of Windows CE.
GNU Utilities for Win32: Here are some ports of common GNU utilities to native Win32. In this context, native means the executables do only depend on the Microsoft C-runtime (msvcrt.dll) and not an emulation layer like that provided by Cygwin tools.

There are more options, but those two seem to be the best options. Worth checking out is a centralized information repository on Unix for Windows at http://www.math.utah.edu/~beebe/gnu-on-windows.html.

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Comments

UWIN by wipro technologies is an execllent and free unix environment for windows computers. It is based on ATT unix and was developed by David Korn of thte Korn shell fame. I use it all the time at work and can write shell scripts in HPUX and transfer it to my UWIN environment and run it without worring about syntax.

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