Here’s something new: Microsoft Build announced that it is bringing GNU project’s Bash shell to Windows. Bash or Bourne Again Shell has been a standard OS X on many Linux distribution systems but the default terminal for Windows developers is PowerShell, produced by Microsoft itself.
This means that developers will be able to write their .sh Bash scripts on Windows as well. The new system will work through a Linux subsystem in Windows 10 that Microsoft worked on with Canonical.
Canonical founder Mark Shuttleworth states: “The native availability of a full Ubuntu environment on Windows, without virtualization or emulation, is a milestone that defies convention and a gateway to fascinatingly unfamiliar territory,”
“In our journey to bring free software to the widest possible audience, this is not a moment we could have predicted. Nevertheless we are delighted to stand behind Ubuntu for Windows, committed to addressing the needs of Windows developers exploring Linux in this amazing new way, and excited at the possibilities heralded by this unexpected turn of events.”, he adds.
It gets better
The idea behind moving the Bash shell to Windows 10 is to make Windows a better operating system for developers who want to target other platforms than Microsoft’s.
Satya Nadella, the new CEO of Microsoft is actively pushing for projects that target all platforms and developers, not just Windows. A few years ago it was unthinkable for Microsoft to work together with a rival operating system such as Linux but now the company offers Linux support on Azure and plans to bring SQL Server to Linux in the near future as well.
Bash will become available with the Windows 10 Anniversary Update but Windows Insiders can try it out before that. Microsoft is planning to bring other shells to Windows as well, which is a great thing for developers worldwide.
