Description
You want grep, sed, make and gcc on Windows, but a virtual machine is heavy and WSL may not fit your company's rules. Cygwin takes another route: it ships a cygwin1.dll that implements a large slice of POSIX on top of Windows, plus a big collection of GNU and open-source tools, so a fresh install feels like a familiar Linux shell.
One caveat: it does not run native Linux binaries directly, so software has to be rebuilt from source under Cygwin. The upside is that you keep Windows as it is, with your apps and files in place, and just add a Unix layer.
Pick-what-you-need install: The installer is a small downloader that lists every component; tick only what you want and come back later to add or remove.
Large toolset: Compilers, shells, scripting languages and version control, plus LXDE, GNOME and KDE desktop components.
POSIX compatibility layer: cygwin1.dll provides signals, ptys and other Unix behaviour, making source-level porting easier.
Easy updates: Run the installer again to upgrade installed packages or search for new ones.
Lives alongside Windows: No reboot and no virtual machine, so Windows programs and Cygwin tools work side by side.
One caveat: it does not run native Linux binaries directly, so software has to be rebuilt from source under Cygwin. The upside is that you keep Windows as it is, with your apps and files in place, and just add a Unix layer.
Features
Pick-what-you-need install: The installer is a small downloader that lists every component; tick only what you want and come back later to add or remove.
Large toolset: Compilers, shells, scripting languages and version control, plus LXDE, GNOME and KDE desktop components.
POSIX compatibility layer: cygwin1.dll provides signals, ptys and other Unix behaviour, making source-level porting easier.
Easy updates: Run the installer again to upgrade installed packages or search for new ones.
Lives alongside Windows: No reboot and no virtual machine, so Windows programs and Cygwin tools work side by side.
