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Cygwin vs Linux: What are the differences?

Cygwin and Linux are both operating systems that provide an environment for running and executing commands. While they serve a similar purpose, there are key differences between the two.

  1. Code Compatibility: Cygwin is designed to provide a compatibility layer between Windows and Linux, allowing Windows users to run Linux tools and applications. On the other hand, Linux is an independent operating system that is native to various hardware architectures.

  2. Kernel: One of the major differences between Cygwin and Linux is the underlying kernel. Linux uses its own kernel, known as the Linux kernel, which is open source and highly customizable. Cygwin, on the other hand, is not a standalone OS but rather a collection of tools and libraries that allow Windows to emulate a Unix-like environment.

  3. Performance: Due to its design as a compatibility layer, Cygwin can sometimes have performance issues compared to Linux. While Cygwin strives to provide a Unix-like experience on Windows, it may not fully match the performance and efficiency of a native Linux installation.

  4. Package Manager: Another notable difference between Cygwin and Linux is the package management system. Linux distributions typically have their own package managers (e.g., apt, yum, or dnf) that provide easy installation, update, and removal of software packages. Cygwin, on the other hand, uses its own package manager called "setup.exe" to manage the installation and updating of packages.

  5. Hardware Support: Linux enjoys broad hardware support, with drivers available for a wide range of devices and architectures. Cygwin, being a compatibility layer, relies on the Windows ecosystem for hardware support. While Windows itself has good hardware compatibility, there may be cases where certain niche or specialized hardware may not work as expected in the Cygwin environment.

  6. System Requirements: Cygwin has minimal system requirements and can run on a wide range of Windows systems. Linux, on the other hand, has its own specific minimum system requirements depending on the distribution and its intended use. This can make Linux more demanding in terms of hardware resources compared to Cygwin.

In summary, Cygwin is a compatibility layer for running Linux tools on Windows, while Linux is an independent operating system with its own kernel. Cygwin may have performance limitations compared to Linux and relies on the Windows ecosystem for hardware support. Both have their own package management systems and system requirements.

Decisions about Cygwin and Linux
Jennifer Briston

Netdata introduces Linux eBPF (Extended Berkeley Packet Filter) monitoring. With this enabled, monitor real-time metrics of Linux kernel functions and actions from the very same monitoring and troubleshooting dashboard used for watching entire systems, or even entire infrastructures.

This collector uses eBPF to monitor system calls inside your operating system’s kernel. For now, the main goal of this plugin is to monitor IO and process management on the host where it is running.

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Justin Dorfman
Open Source Program Manager at Reblaze · | 1 upvote · 79.9K views

If you have a file (demo.txt) that has 3 columns:

Column-1    Column-2    Column-3
Row-1a      Row-2a      Row-3a         
Row-1b      Row-2b      Row-3b
Row-1c      Row-2c      Row-3c
Row-1d      Row-2d      Row-3d
Row-1e      Row-2e      Row-3e

and you want to only view the first column of the file in your CLI, run the following:

awk {'print $1'} demo.txt

Column-1
Row-1a
Row-1b
Row-1c
Row-1d
Row-1e

If you want to print the second column of demo.txt, just replace $1 with $2

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    - No public GitHub repository available -

    What is Cygwin?

    It is a POSIX-compatible environment that runs natively on Microsoft Windows. Its goal is to allow programs of Unix-like systems to be recompiled and run natively on Windows with minimal source code modifications by providing them with the same underlying POSIX API they would expect in those systems.

    What is Linux?

    A clone of the operating system Unix, written from scratch by Linus Torvalds with assistance from a loosely-knit team of hackers across the Net. It aims towards POSIX and Single UNIX Specification compliance.

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