Microsoft's Windows Subsystem for Linux is now open-source
Microsoft is making its Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) open-source today, opening up the code for community members to contribute to. After launching WSL for Windows 10 nearly nine years ago, it has been a multiyear effort at Microsoft to open-source the feature that enables a Linux environment within Windows.
'It has been a consistent request from the developer community for some time now,' says Windows chief Pavan Davuluri in an interview with The Verge. 'It took us a little bit of time, because we needed to refactor the operating system to allow WSL to live in a standalone capacity that then allowed us to open-source the project and be able to have developers go and make contributions and for us to ingest those into the Windows pipeline and ship it at scale.'
The WSL code is now available on GitHub, allowing developers to download it and build it from source, participate in fixes, or even add new features. The WSL community hasn't had access to Microsoft's source code in the past, but that hasn't stopped them from making contributions that have helped improve WSL over the years. Davuluri says he's now expecting that developers will use the open-source project to help improve WSL performance, or for more integration into Linux services.
It's a major milestone for WSL, which started off life in 2016 as part of the Windows 10 Anniversary update. 'At that time WSL was based on a pico process provider, lxcore.sys, which enabled Windows to natively run ELF executables, and implement Linux syscalls inside the Windows kernel,' explains Pierre Boulay, senior software engineer at Microsoft. 'Over time it became clear that the best way to provide optimal compatibility with native Linux was to rely on the Linux kernel itself.'
Microsoft announced its second major version of WSL in 2019, eventually adding GPU support and then moving to ship the project separate to Windows. 'It eventually became clear that to keep up the growing community and feature requests, WSL had to move faster, and ship separately from Windows,' says Boulay. 'That's why in 2021 we separated WSL from the Windows codebase, and moved it to its own codebase.' In the latest 24H2 update for Windows 11, Microsoft has fully transitioned WSL users to a package that's separate from Windows, instead of the WSL component that was baked into the OS.
All of these changes to WSL in recent years have led Microsoft to close off the first ever issue raised on its WSL repo on GitHub, asking 'Will this be open-source?' That answer is very much yes now, and it's a part of making Windows more developer-friendly. 'Our goal is quite simple: we want Windows to be a great dev box for developers,' says Davuluri. 'That's really the ambition.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Digital Trends
24 minutes ago
- Digital Trends
Apple's glass-like software redesign sounds cool, but it isn't exactly new
Apple and its obsession with aesthetics are a well-documented part of its history. At WWDC 2025, the company is going to embark on a fresh design chapter inspired by glass elements. Think transparency and reflections, carried over to the app icons, windows, and widgets on your iPhone's screen. The tablets and desktops, too. Word on the street is that 'glassmorphism' is back. Sebastiaan de With, an ex-Apple designer and the mind behind excellent apps like Kino and Halide, joked that after the WWDC keynote, you can no longer use the word glassmorphism. Recommended Videos Yet, glass is going to be the standout takeaway. Or maybe, we can go with something more elegant, like flowing water. Or the concept of Zen that inspired many at Apple, including co-founder Steve Jobs. 'Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication,' Jobs told his biographer, Walter Isaacson. Apple has already given us a glimpse of its vision for a unified design language, thanks to the namesake OS running on the Vision Pro headset. However, this won't be the first time we're going to see glassmorphism on a mainstream device. What's glassmorphism, by the way? In the simplest terms, glassmorphism is a visual design style that's all about taking inspiration from glass, and specifically, its visual properties such as see-through effects, edge reflections, and depth. When implemented on a digital canvas for apps and windows, we get translucent UI effects and bokeh effects. So, how is Apple implementing it across iOS 26, macOS 26, iPadOS 26, and watchOS 26? 'The new interface elements are called Liquid Glass, and they have the sheen and see-through visuals of a glassy surface,' reports Bloomberg. The idea is to go from a flat 2D design to invoking a sense of 3D depth. 'Design elements look layered—with objects floating in space—and the top layer seems like a piece of virtual glass,' explains the Interaction Design Foundation. To achieve the glass-inspired design in software, blurred backgrounds are set against vivid colors, and outlines are created in a translucent style. It's more about mimicking the frosted glass look by putting the foreground against a blurred backdrop, preferably a gradient look with contrasting colors. The borders are light and have a subtle shadow to produce the depth and visual effects of glass, alongside heavy use of layering. Apple's design guide also alludes to the glass-inspired design ideology, with full videos giving a detailed walkthrough. 'The default window style consists of an upright plane that uses an unmodifiable background material called glass and includes a close button, window bar, and resize controls that let people close, move, and resize the window,' suggests the company. Not exactly a new novel concept Apple is not alien to the concept of glassmorphism. In fact, the company started implementing elements with macOS Big Sur back in 2020, pushing gradient minimalism with blurred-out background effects for app windows. Design experts refer to it as frosted glass aesthetics, and it continues to live till date. You can already see elements of this design in the control center of macOS Sequoia. Likewise, opening the app folder on iPadOS will give a glimpse of it. In fact, Apple first experimented with this design language in iOS 7, and subsequently made a pivot to the flatter design with solid colors that we now see on iPhones and Macs. Apple won't be the only player with a taste for glass-inspired UI design. Microsoft introduced its Fluent Design aesthetics in Windows 10, which adopted glassmorphic elements in the start menu and a few other places. It balanced a semi-transparent background with light shadows and sharp borders to achieve the effects. This wasn't Microsoft's first experience with this particular design language. That honor goes to the Aero Glass design in Windows Vista, roughly two decades ago. The Aero Glass scheme focused on achieving a frosted glass effect, which could appear borderline transparent in certain areas, such as the taskbar and Media Player's playback control bar. You can read all about it in Microsoft's archived developer guide here. Here's the fun part. Microsoft recently gave us the best look at what a truly glassmorphic design would look like on a computer, without actually putting it on a Windows machine. Sigh. Have a look: Why now? We're not sure exactly how the updated design language of iOS, macOS, watchOS, and tvOS is going to look, except for rumors of a VisionOS-inspired makeover. As per Bloomberg, Apple is hoping to unify the design language across all its products. 'That will include transparency and shine effects in all of Apple's tool bars, in-app interfaces and controls,' says the outlet. But that's not the overarching goal. Apple is apparently preparing this design overhaul with the highly anticipated 20th anniversary iPhone in mind. That device will feature curved glass aesthetics and a seamless screen without any holes for the pill-shaped Face ID and selfie camera kit. It's going to mark the same kind of product evolution as the iPhone X did years ago. The iPhone X ditched the thick bezels and the physical Touch ID home button in favor of an all-screen appearance. Apple accordingly made changes to the UI and adjusted the gestures in iOS to help users with the transition. We'll get to know more about the upcoming iOS 26 overhaul is just a day from now.
Yahoo
24 minutes ago
- Yahoo
You could cut the tension with a needle—7 SteamDB changes in the past week have Silksong hopefuls wondering if the final hour is upon us
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Silksong may, after many long years, finally be releasing—or it may not be. A shadowdrop could be arriving tomorrow, or our eternal vigil may never end. It's either the final 24 hours, or time has no meaning anymore. One thing's for certain: SteamDB has some updates. In addition to the updates released earlier this week, which included achievement data for multiple languages, Silksong has had support for Windows, Mac, and Linux added, visible via SteamDB. At the time of writing, Silksong's minimum requirements don't list Mac or Linux as possible platforms, however, Steam does provide support for them, and developers can prep their store pages to send out platform-specific packages. As always, the Silksong subreddit is being delightfully normal about the news. In one thread, you can even see the ever-cynical doubters (we're well past the point of tribalistic factions) starting to crack. "FUCK MY FLAIR SILKSONG TOMORROW," roars one frantic switcher. "I... CANT... DENY... IT... ANY... LONGER!" writes another, with the tone of the Incredible Hulk swelling out of his shirt. On one hand, it is mighty suspicious that the games' Steam page would receive such a ferocious flurry of updates—seven in total, including this one—before Summer Game Fest. With a bevvy of announcements to come, the idea that Team Cherry's doing some preparatory updating before finally releasing the dang thing isn't entirely out of the question. On the other hand, a few SteamDB updates aren't substantial proof of anything if you aren't scrabbling for every scrap of hope you can. Almost no game since Elden Ring has had this much feverish hype built up behind it and, in a way, the cultish chanting is outstripping what Silksong is likely bound to be: A very good metroidvania. Which, given I've played several since Hollow Knight, is only saying so much. If Team Cherry does do the funniest thing it can and shadowdrop Silksong in a manner of hours, it'll mark the end to all doubting and hoping, all coping and copium. No more daily Silksong news, no more crossed fingers, no more Silkposts. Bait used to be believable, but if it's the dawn of the final day, it shall be absent entirely. All I can say is, if this is indeed the end? Gentlebugs, it has been an honour. 2025 games: This year's upcoming releasesBest PC games: Our all-time favoritesFree PC games: Freebie festBest FPS games: Finest gunplayBest RPGs: Grand adventuresBest co-op games: Better together
Yahoo
33 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Why Quantum Computing Inc. (QUBT) Soared On Friday
We recently published a list of . In this article, we are going to take a look at where Quantum Computing Inc. (NASDAQ:QUBT) stands against other Friday's best-performing stocks. Quantum Computing surged by 15.81 percent on Friday to end at $13.70 apiece as investors cheered the company's upgraded rating from an investment firm. In its market note, Ascendiant Capital Markets maintained its 'buy' recommendation on Quantum Computing Inc.'s (NASDAQ:QUBT) stock, while raising its price target to $22 from $14 previously. A data analyst pouring over a chart, the intricacies of its lines being revealed. The new price target represented a 60.6 percent upside from the company's latest closing price. In the first quarter of the year, Quantum Computing Inc. (NASDAQ:QUBT) swung to a net income attributable to shareholders of $16.98 million from a $6.4 million net loss in the same period last year, primarily driven by a $23.6 million non-cash gain on the mark-to-market valuation of the company's warrant liability as a result of its merger with QPhoton in June 2022. Revenues, on the other hand, rose by 44 percent to $39,000 from $27,000 in the same period last year. Overall, QUBTranks 3rd on our list of Friday's best-performing stocks. While we acknowledge the potential of QUBT as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and have limited downside risk. If you are looking for an extremely cheap AI stock that is also a major beneficiary of Trump tariffs and onshoring, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock. READ NEXT: 20 Best AI Stocks To Buy Now and 30 Best Stocks to Buy Now According to Billionaires. Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
