Microsoft has started to integrate the Linux kernel into its Windows operating system to make the only operating system any person truly needs to allow them the benefit of the handy Windows GUI and widespread app usage, along with the need to work with and develop on the Linux platform, something which is especially useful for software developers.
However, there is still more work to be done to make the two operating systems play better with each other and Microsoft knows this. The company is promising to dramatically improve its Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) with GUI app support and GPU hardware acceleration, features reserved only for the Windows GUI itself. The software giant is also planning to support Linux GUI apps that will run alongside regular Windows apps, something which should greatly boost multitasking for developers who use both.
The added GPU hardware acceleration will also make it a lot easier for developers to spend more time on the Linux kernel without suffering several performance constraints. With the first version of WSL, many people were using the Linux command prompt functionality to get things done as using the UI offered up too many performance issues. Having the GUI easier to use, certainly increases what they can do with it. Especially useful for a lot of coding repos or development tools that are designed to better operate on Linux.
Along with the graphical improvements, Microsoft is also planning to address several compatibility issues and file I/O performance with the updated WSL, which is due to release in the coming months.
Last Updated: May 22, 2020
