Different ways to run Linux Softwares on Windows..!

So far we have covered important and basic concepts of Linux. Here is a small list of topics covered :

• About Linux
• Advantages of Linux
• Best uses of Linux
• Linux Distributions
• Types of Linux Distros

As I told in my last article that we will see how to install Linux in next article. But as I got one question in mind and the line to tutorial changed. I bet many of you don't know about the stuff I wrote in this article. So let's start..

I know that everyone of us is using Windows Operating System now-a-days. But as now you also know the importance of Linux, you might be willing to install Linux on your PC. But you might be afraid to lose Windows OS. So, here I will provide a guidance to install Linux over Windows Machine.

You might be knowing the two methods of installing Linux :

1. Creating a separate partition on HDD and installing Linux on it.
2. Running Linux Live without installing to get it temporarily worked.

But here are some other methods which are easier and better to creating separate partition and running temporarily. (If you don't know the above two methods, don't worry.. I will provide the tutorial in my next article.)

Virtual Machines

Virtual machines allow you to run any operating system in a window on your desktop. It allows you to run Linux in a separate window on Windows OS, just as we are using software in a separate window. You can install the free VirtualBox or VMware Player, download an ISO file for a Linux distribution such as Ubuntu, and install that Linux distribution inside the virtual machine like you would install it on a standard computer.

When you need to boot up your Linux system, you can do it in a window on your desktop — no need for rebooting and leaving all your Windows programs behind. Everything but demanding games and advanced 3D effects should work just fine, but you likely won’t want to use those, anyway.

Ubuntu’s default Unity desktop uses 3D effects and the desktop interface doesn’t perform as smoothly in a virtual machine as past desktops did. Xubuntu uses Xfce, which is much more lightweight. So, you can install Xubuntu as an option to Ubuntu.

You could even try using VirtualBox’s seamless mode or VMware’s unity mode to run Linux applications directly on your desktop - they’ll be running in the virtual machine, but their windows will be present on your Windows desktop instead of trapped in a single virtual machine window. It's like using two software applications in different windows at the same time (E.g. VLC and Browser).

More information about using VirtualBox, its advantages and installing different OS is a part of separate tutorial. Also you can install more than one OS on VirtualBox. Hence, it is not limited to installing only one OS. You can install different Linux Distros like Kali, Ubuntu, Debian at the same time without partitioning your HardDrive.

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Cygwin

Cygwin is a collection of tools that offer a Linux-like environment on Windows. It’s not a way to run existing Linux software on Windows - the software will have to be recompiled. However, much software has already been recompiled. Cygwin will give you a Linux-like terminal (not exactly Linux) and command-line environment with many of the command-line programs you may already be used to.

We will later see installing and using Cygwin. You can even use Cygwin to install an OpenSSH server and get SSH access to a Windows system.

This solution is ideal for users missing crucial Linux utilities on Windows — it’s not a way to run a full Linux desktop.

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Install Ubuntu via Wubi

This method is technically installing Linux, not running Linux software on Windows. You’ll have to reboot each time you want to use your Linux system just as if you had installed it in a standard dual-boot configuration.

However, Wubi doesn’t install Ubuntu in the normal way. Instead, it creates a special file on your Windows partition and uses that file as your Ubuntu drive. This means that you can install Ubuntu and use it without any partitioning and you can uninstall Ubuntu from the Windows Control Panel when you’re done. It is similar to installing and using any application software and uninstalling it when the job is done.

If the partitioning your HardDisk is holding you back, give Wubi a try. Performance won’t be quite as good as a normally installed Linux system when it comes to disk read and write times, but it should be faster than a virtual machine. Here, you can install Ubuntu without partitioning your HDD is the main advantage.

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Ported and Compiled Programs

Many common Linux programs have already been ported to Windows and compiled versions have been made available online. If you really miss Emacs (Linux text-editor), you’ll find versions of Emacs for Windows. If you want to run a specific program on Windows, perform a Google search for the name of that program and “Windows” — there’s a good chance you’ll find a version of the program that ‘s been ported to Windows.

This trick is mainly used when you want to run only a single software available in Linux on your windows. Instead of installing complete Linux OS, you can find the compiled or ported version of that software for windows.

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The above were several methods available to use Linux on Windows. Now, it depends on individual which method to use, depending on his/her preference and work.