Remember those old days when we had to use Linux’s VI editor to write C, C++ , Java code in our School/ College days? Do you also remember how we used to get that black UNIX terminal (Bash) in our Windows machine? Well…mostly we had to do telnet from our Windows system to the Linux server to get the terminal back so that we can use the VI editor and write some code.

I can remember in our programming lab we had a Linux server and it was connected to multiple Windows terminal. We used to telnet to the Linux Server to run the Bash and form there all other subsequent commands. If anyone wanted to configure a standalone system on their own with Windows and Linux then they had to undergo a lot of challenges. Starting from partitioning the hard disk, installing Linux from multiple CD, configuring dual booting and so on and so forth. Unfortunately if you miss a little thing, you mess the whole thing up, specially the boot loader. It was a golden time for the IT guys back then, they used to charge huge to Install Linux on your PC. Then Virtualization came and Installing Linux in a VM became a bit easier and less painful.

For web development or for basic programming we never needed a full-blown Linux setup with all the bells and whistles. The bash terminal was good enough to accomplish most of the tasks in hand. So why carry this heavy baggage of Linux with Windows all the time? Don’t we have a light weight solution for that?

Yes, fortunately we have a solution now. Windows 10 comes with – Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL). This helps us to install Linux inside Windows OS. It may sound like a crazy thing but, yes, it’s true and we are going to see it in action in a bit.

So…no more dual booting system, no more VM. It’s a native Linux system inside Windows 10 we are talking about here. We can directly Install Linux distribution of our choice in Windows 10, such as Ubuntu, SuSe etc. We can now have a full-blown Linux Bash running on Windows 10. We can run Ruby, Python, C# (.NET Core) all inside Linux sitting at your Windows 10 PC. Just like using another command prompt side by side.

Exciting isn’t it? Without further ado let’s jump into it right away and see how we can make this happen.

Step 1: Check your Windows 10 version:

Windows Anniversary edition or above version can only supports WSL. To check : Run (Windows key + R) then type winver and hit enter. Now see the build number. It should be 16215 or later.