Cygwin vs Ubuntu

Overview

Cygwin

Stacks27

Followers27

Votes0

GitHub Stars23

Forks7

Ubuntu

Stacks80.4K

Followers59.1K

Votes468

Cygwin vs Ubuntu: What are the differences?

Introduction:

In this Markdown code, we will discuss the key differences between Cygwin and Ubuntu. Both Cygwin and Ubuntu are popular operating systems, but they have various differences that set them apart from each other.

File System: One key difference between Cygwin and Ubuntu is the file system they use. Cygwin uses a Windows-based file system, which means it is compatible with Windows applications and utilities. On the other hand, Ubuntu uses the Linux file system, which is widely used in the Linux world and offers various advantages such as better security, permissions, and support for Linux-based applications.
Package Manager: Another significant difference is the package manager each operating system uses. Cygwin utilizes the "setup-x86.exe" package manager, which allows users to install and update software packages specifically designed for Cygwin. In contrast, Ubuntu employs the "apt-get" or "apt" package manager, which is used to install, update, and manage software packages specifically created for Ubuntu.
User Interface: The user interface is also a notable difference between Cygwin and Ubuntu. Cygwin provides a command-line interface that allows users to interact with the operating system through text-based commands. It is designed to provide a Unix-like environment on Windows. On the other hand, Ubuntu offers a graphical user interface (GUI) known as the Unity desktop environment, making it more user-friendly and visually intuitive for users who prefer a graphical interface.
Hardware Compatibility: Cygwin and Ubuntu differ in terms of hardware compatibility. Cygwin is specifically designed to run on Windows operating systems and therefore, supports a wide range of hardware devices that are compatible with Windows. On the other hand, Ubuntu is compatible with a broader range of hardware devices due to its Linux-based nature, making it more versatile when it comes to hardware compatibility.
Supported Applications: The available applications and software for Cygwin and Ubuntu also differ significantly. Cygwin primarily supports Windows-based applications, providing compatibility for various Windows utilities and software packages. On the other hand, Ubuntu offers a vast repository of Linux-based applications, including software packages specifically developed for Linux systems. This allows Ubuntu users to have access to a wide range of open-source and Linux-compatible applications.
Community and Support: The community and support for Cygwin and Ubuntu are also distinct. Cygwin has a smaller user base and community compared to Ubuntu, which has a large and active user community. This means that Ubuntu users have access to a wealth of online resources, forums, and documentation, making it easier to find solutions to any issues they might encounter. Cygwin, although still having a supportive community, may have limited resources and online forums for troubleshooting specific Cygwin-related problems.

In summary, Cygwin and Ubuntu differ in terms of their file systems, package managers, user interfaces, hardware compatibility, supported applications, and community/support. These differences make each operating system unique and suitable for different use cases and user preferences.

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Advice on Cygwin, Ubuntu

Jerome/Zen

Software Engineer

Aug 2, 2020

Decided

Global familiarity, free, widely used, and as a debian distro feels more comfortable when rapidly switching between local macOS and remote command lines.

CentOS does boast quite a few security/stability improvements, however as a RHEL-based distro, differs quite significantly in the command line and suffers from slightly less frequent package updates. (Could be a good or bad thing depending on your use-case and if it is public facing)

271k views271k

Comments

Simon

Developer Advocate at k6 / Load Impact

Mar 7, 2020

Decided

At the moment of the decision, my desktop was the primary place I did work. Due to this, I can't have it blow up on me while I work. While Arch is interesting and powerful, Ubuntu offers (at least for me) a lot more stability and lets me focus on other things than maintaining my own OS installation.

299k views299k

Comments

Govind

Aug 5, 2020

Decided

Ubuntu is much more faster over Windows and helps to get software and other utilities easier and within a short span of time compared to Windows.

Ubuntu helps to get robustness and resiliency over Windows. Ubuntu runs faster than Windows on every computer that I have ever tested. LibreOffice (Ubuntu's default office suite) runs much faster than Microsoft Office on every computer that I have ever tested.

270k views270k

Comments

Detailed Comparison

Cygwin	Ubuntu
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.	Ubuntu is an ancient African word meaning ‘humanity to others’. It also means ‘I am what I am because of who we all are’. The Ubuntu operating system brings the spirit of Ubuntu to the world of computers.
A dynamic-link library; API compatibility layer; Color Depths	-
Statistics
GitHub Stars 23	GitHub Stars -
GitHub Forks 7	GitHub Forks -
Stacks 27	Stacks 80.4K
Followers 27	Followers 59.1K
Votes 0	Votes 468
Pros & Cons
No community feedback yet	Pros 230 Free to use 96 Easy setup for testing discord bot 57 Gateway Linux Distro 54 Simple interface 9 Don't need driver installation in most cases Cons 5 Demanding system requirements 4 Adds overhead and unnecessary complexity over Debian 2 Snapd installed by default 1 Systemd
Integrations
Linux Kernel Linux	No integrations available

What are some alternatives to Cygwin, Ubuntu?

Debian

Debian systems currently use the Linux kernel or the FreeBSD kernel. Linux is a piece of software started by Linus Torvalds and supported by thousands of programmers worldwide. FreeBSD is an operating system including a kernel and other software.

Arch Linux

A lightweight and flexible Linux distribution that tries to Keep It Simple.

Fedora

Fedora is a Linux-based operating system that provides users with access to the latest free and open source software, in a stable, secure and easy to manage form. Fedora is the largest of many free software creations of the Fedora Project. Because of its predominance, the word "Fedora" is often used interchangeably to mean both the Fedora Project and the Fedora operating system.

Linux Mint

The purpose of Linux Mint is to produce a modern, elegant and comfortable operating system which is both powerful and easy to use.

CentOS

The CentOS Project is a community-driven free software effort focused on delivering a robust open source ecosystem. For users, we offer a consistent manageable platform that suits a wide variety of deployments. For open source communities, we offer a solid, predictable base to build upon, along with extensive resources to build, test, release, and maintain their code.

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.

CoreOS

It is designed for security, consistency, and reliability. Instead of installing packages via yum or apt, it uses Linux containers to manage your services at a higher level of abstraction. A single service's code and all dependencies are packaged within a container that can be run on one or many machines.

Gentoo Linux

It is a free operating system based on either Linux or FreeBSD that can be automatically optimized and customized for just about any application or need.

Alpine Linux

Alpine Linux is a security-oriented, lightweight Linux distribution based on musl libc and busybox.

Manjaro

It is an accessible, friendly, open-source Linux distribution and community. Based on Arch Linux, it provides all the benefits of cutting-edge software combined with a focus on getting started quickly, automated tools to require less manual intervention, and help readily available when needed.

Related Comparisons

Cygwin vs Ubuntu: What are the differences?

Introduction:

File System: One key difference between Cygwin and Ubuntu is the file system they use. Cygwin uses a Windows-based file system, which means it is compatible with Windows applications and utilities. On the other hand, Ubuntu uses the Linux file system, which is widely used in the Linux world and offers various advantages such as better security, permissions, and support for Linux-based applications.
Package Manager: Another significant difference is the package manager each operating system uses. Cygwin utilizes the "setup-x86.exe" package manager, which allows users to install and update software packages specifically designed for Cygwin. In contrast, Ubuntu employs the "apt-get" or "apt" package manager, which is used to install, update, and manage software packages specifically created for Ubuntu.
User Interface: The user interface is also a notable difference between Cygwin and Ubuntu. Cygwin provides a command-line interface that allows users to interact with the operating system through text-based commands. It is designed to provide a Unix-like environment on Windows. On the other hand, Ubuntu offers a graphical user interface (GUI) known as the Unity desktop environment, making it more user-friendly and visually intuitive for users who prefer a graphical interface.
Hardware Compatibility: Cygwin and Ubuntu differ in terms of hardware compatibility. Cygwin is specifically designed to run on Windows operating systems and therefore, supports a wide range of hardware devices that are compatible with Windows. On the other hand, Ubuntu is compatible with a broader range of hardware devices due to its Linux-based nature, making it more versatile when it comes to hardware compatibility.
Supported Applications: The available applications and software for Cygwin and Ubuntu also differ significantly. Cygwin primarily supports Windows-based applications, providing compatibility for various Windows utilities and software packages. On the other hand, Ubuntu offers a vast repository of Linux-based applications, including software packages specifically developed for Linux systems. This allows Ubuntu users to have access to a wide range of open-source and Linux-compatible applications.
Community and Support: The community and support for Cygwin and Ubuntu are also distinct. Cygwin has a smaller user base and community compared to Ubuntu, which has a large and active user community. This means that Ubuntu users have access to a wealth of online resources, forums, and documentation, making it easier to find solutions to any issues they might encounter. Cygwin, although still having a supportive community, may have limited resources and online forums for troubleshooting specific Cygwin-related problems.

Cygwin vs Ubuntu

Overview