Overview

Arch Linux

Stacks562

Followers555

Votes108

Cygwin

Stacks27

Followers27

Votes0

GitHub Stars23

Forks7

Arch Linux vs Cygwin: What are the differences?

Key Differences between Arch Linux and Cygwin

Arch Linux and Cygwin are both popular operating systems that are widely used in the development and programming community. However, there are several key differences that set them apart.

Installation and Package Management: Arch Linux uses its own package manager called "pacman" which provides a simple and efficient way to install, update, and manage software packages. On the other hand, Cygwin relies on a setup program that allows users to select and install individual packages from an extensive repository.
System Design: Arch Linux is a lightweight and minimalistic operating system that follows the "Keep It Simple, Stupid" (KISS) principle, enabling users to customize and build their own system from scratch. In contrast, Cygwin is a compatibility layer that provides Unix-like functionalities on Windows systems, allowing users to run Linux tools and applications without a complete Linux distribution.
User Base: Arch Linux primarily targets experienced users and enthusiasts who prefer a DIY approach and are knowledgeable about Linux systems. It requires more technical expertise to set up and maintain. On the other hand, Cygwin caters to a broader audience, including beginners, by providing an easier installation process and a familiar command-line interface.
Software Availability: While both Arch Linux and Cygwin offer a wide range of software packages, Arch Linux provides a larger and more up-to-date repository, thanks to its rolling release model. Cygwin, on the other hand, offers a comprehensive list of packages but not all software is available or up to date due to compatibility issues with Windows.
System Requirements: Arch Linux is designed to run efficiently on both modern hardware and older systems, making it suitable for various devices. Cygwin, being a compatibility layer, relies on the Windows operating system and has the same system requirements as the host Windows OS.
Community Support: Arch Linux has a large and active community that actively contributes to documentation, forums, and repositories, providing extensive support for users. Cygwin also has a dedicated community but it is relatively smaller compared to Arch Linux.

In summary, Arch Linux is a lightweight, DIY-oriented Linux distribution with a comprehensive package manager, while Cygwin is a compatibility layer that brings Unix-like capabilities to Windows. Arch Linux targets experienced users, offers more customization, and has a larger software repository, whereas Cygwin caters to a wider audience, provides an easier installation process, and has better compatibility with Windows.

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Advice on Arch Linux, Cygwin

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.

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Detailed Comparison

Arch Linux	Cygwin
A lightweight and flexible Linux distribution that tries to Keep It Simple.	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.
-	A dynamic-link library; API compatibility layer; Color Depths
Statistics
GitHub Stars -	GitHub Stars 23
GitHub Forks -	GitHub Forks 7
Stacks 562	Stacks 27
Followers 555	Followers 27
Votes 108	Votes 0
Pros & Cons
Pros 17 Large Community 15 Package Manager 13 Customizable 12 Rolling Release 11 Bleeding Edge Cons 4 Systemd only 3 Only X86_64 architecture is offically supported 1 Unstable 1 System maintenance 1 No Guided Installation	No community feedback yet
Integrations
No integrations available	Linux Kernel Linux

What are some alternatives to Arch Linux, Cygwin?

Ubuntu

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.

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.

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.