From: Austin Ziegler Date: 2006-10-27T06:44:07+09:00 Subject: Re: How do I tell when I'm on Cygwin? On 10/26/06, Robert Oliver wrote: > On 10/26/06, Austin Ziegler wrote: > > The bash shell isn't necessary on Windows (not if you know how to use > > the existing command shell well enough or you use something like Total > > Commander, like I do). I don't use openssh on Windows, I use PuTTY. I > > have most of the GNU tools that I need through GnuWin32. I use a > > native TeX build. > > > > Why do you think you need bash on Windows? IME, you only need it if > > you're having to run Unix-style shell scripts. > I know how to use the Windows shell very well, but it kinda sucks :) Bash > is way better than CMD.EXE. I don't agree. When I have to *remember* how to get to a different drive (because Windows, unlike Unix, has separate roots), then there's a significant impedance mismatch. When bash is, IME, 3x slower than cmd.exe, there's a significant impedance mismatch. I use bash whenever I'm on a Unix. I'm quite proficient in it (I just spent most of the last six weeks of my time working on ksh and bash scripts that we use at work). It doesn't work so well on Windows because it wasn't *made* for Windows. > Cygwin provides a nice way to use many UNIX tools in Windows. It's a nice > comprehensive collection and you can even use it to build most UNIX software > without a whole lot of trouble. Yes, you can. Why do you want to? > What can be so bad about it? Impedance mismatch. Major impedance mismatch. Cygwin is not a solution. It's a surrender. It's saying "I'm not interested in actually getting things to work on this platform the way they should." PostgresQL didn't start having measurable impact on Windows database choice until it had a native Windows release. I use grep all the time on Windows. There are things about the Windows command line that annoy me. There are things about the Unix command line that annoy me. It annoys me *much* more to have to deal with an impedance mismatch: if I have to use a drive letter on WINE on Unix or if I have to remember where my Windows drives are mounted in Cygwin. There are times when Cygwin is the right choice. It is the absolute *wrong* choice for anyone who needs to do software development related to Windows. -austin -- Austin Ziegler * halostatue@gmail.com * http://www.halostatue.ca/ * austin@halostatue.ca * http://www.halostatue.ca/feed/ * austin@zieglers.ca