What is WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux)?

This time, I will introduce WSL as an example of how to prepare a Linux development environment.

Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) is a mechanism for running Linux on Windows.

You can directly run the Linux environment as one of the software installed in Windows and use various Linux tools without the hassle of rebooting like dual boot.

There are WSL1 and WSL2, but this time I will install WSL2.

Also, for the Qualcomm® Snapdragon platform, for example, there are many cases where an Ubuntu 18.04 environment is currently required as a Linux PC for software development, so we will also supplement how to install Ubuntu 18.04 using WSL2.

prerequisite

The instructions provided require you to be running Windows 10 version 2004 or newer (build 19041 or newer) or Windows 11.

Install WSL2

Run Windows PowerShell as administrator,

Execute the following command.

> wsl --install

That's all for installing WSL2. Very simple!

After the installation is complete, restart your Windows PC once.
Check "Turn Windows features on or off" and "Windows Subsystem for Linux" and "Virtual Machine Platforms" are enabled.

Also, after restarting the Windows PC, Ubuntu will start automatically, so set the user name and password.

Ubuntu 20.04 LTS is installed by default.

How to install additional Linux distributions

You can install additional Linux distributions by:

・Check the list of available Linux distributions for download.

> wsl --list --online

・Install Ubuntu 18.04 LTS as an example.

> wsl --install -d Ubuntu-18.04

After the installation is completed, Ubuntu 18.04 LTS will be started, so set the user name and password.

Ubuntu updates and upgrades require self-maintenance. It will not be updated by Windows Update, etc.

To update or upgrade, run the following commands on the Ubuntu console.

$ sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade

As an example of how to prepare a Linux development environment, I introduced the procedure for installing Ubuntu 18.04 using WSL2.

​We would like to continue to introduce information that may be useful when evaluating and considering the Qualcomm® Snapdragon platform.

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