Posted by: Anonymous Coward
on July 13, 2006 01:30 AM
The author really doesn't describe WHAT cygwin is at heart, first of which is a software layer that translates POSIX calls to Win32 calls.
What does this mean? Well, it means that most any program written for Unix/Linux, that uses POSIX standard calls, can be simply recompiled in a Cygwin environment to use said progam in Windows without modification! No longer do you need to write code to port that ultra useful Unix/Linux application (emacs, X, bash, etc.) to work in Windows, which is a completely different beast altogether.
This brings me to the second thing that Cygwin "is": Along with the POSIX to Win32 compatibility layer, it is also a large collection of Unix/Linux applications that have been compiled in the Cygwin environment to be used seamlessly in Windows. This is what gives you the capabilities that the author discusses: - X - bash - GNOME - ssh
While useful for what the author has explained, Cygwin comprises much more than what was stated, and started as a POSIX to Win32 software layer at its beginnings. The compilation and addition of the various applications that come with a Cygwin installation is what makes it such a useful package today.
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That's all well and good, but...
Posted by: Anonymous Coward on July 13, 2006 01:30 AMWhat does this mean? Well, it means that most any program written for Unix/Linux, that uses POSIX standard calls, can be simply recompiled in a Cygwin environment to use said progam in Windows without modification! No longer do you need to write code to port that ultra useful Unix/Linux application (emacs, X, bash, etc.) to work in Windows, which is a completely different beast altogether.
This brings me to the second thing that Cygwin "is": Along with the POSIX to Win32 compatibility layer, it is also a large collection of Unix/Linux applications that have been compiled in the Cygwin environment to be used seamlessly in Windows. This is what gives you the capabilities that the author discusses:
- X
- bash
- GNOME
- ssh
While useful for what the author has explained, Cygwin comprises much more than what was stated, and started as a POSIX to Win32 software layer at its beginnings. The compilation and addition of the various applications that come with a Cygwin installation is what makes it such a useful package today.
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