A good Unix emulator?

Question

I am currently learning Java on a Windows platform. I've decided it's time to become familiar with Unix.

Before taking the big step of downloading the entire Unix operating system, is there a good emulator I can use to learn Unix on Windows?

I have heard that cygwin is good (www.cygwin.com) but this seems to be based on Linux. I know that Linux is derived from Unix - but would I be 'shooting myself in the foot' by learning Unix on a Linux emulator?

-Eoghain

Answer 1

You must try UWIN - Unix for Windows.



UWIN or Unix for WINdows, is developed and released by AT&T Laboratories and David Korn - the creator of Korn shell. UWin basically consists of a set of tools and libraries which helps application developers compile and run Unix applications natively on windows. The tools include a complete shell (Korn Shell) for windows which is bundled with all the command line tools you find in Linux/Unix. UWIN is not a new development in fact, it was around since a long time back and AT&T even enjoyed a tie-up with Wipro technologies (a foremost IT firm in India) to sell this package for commerical use. The tie-up has since been dissolved.



UWIN comes with its own Unix compiler 'cc' but developers can also use Visual C++ or mingw (windows port of gcc) to compile the Unix applications. Some other software bundled with it include development files like libraries, groff, perl and X windows libraries.



Salient features of UWIN



Access to almost all the command line tools from Unix on windows. 245 command line tools to be exact.

Comes bundled with the original Unix compiler 'cc' as well as a plethora of tools like 'make' and the necessary libraries which allow Unix applications to be build and run on Windows machines with very little or no changes in the source code.

Option to use other compilers like Visual C++ or Mingw to compile programs.

Full fledged Perl package.

X windows libraries for those who aspire to develop X applications on windows. Though to run those applications in Windows, you need an X server which is not bundled with UWIN.

UWIN comes with a control panel applet (accessed through 'Start->Settings->Control Panel->UWIN') which can be used to configure some of the UWIN system parameters.



Uses of UWIN



- Run Unix applications natively in Windows in full speed.

- Use the full power of Unix command line tools on Windows.

The korn shell bundled with UWIN makes a Unix user feel right at home in a Windows environment.

- Develop and run UNIX applications on Windows.

- Develop X applications on the Windows platform.



Drawbacks of UWIN



- UWIN does not come bundled with a X server so a user will not be able to run X applications on windows. Though there are third party commercial X servers available which can fill this gap.



- UWIN is not released under the GPL but is free to download and use for educational and non-commercial purposes.





To get it go here : http://www.research.att.com/sw/tools/uwin/

Answer 2

Unix Simulator On Windows

Answer 3

Try Cygwin. Cygwin is a Linux-like environment for Windows. You can run all command line tools as you where on linux. Yes it's not an unix emulator but since Linux is inheriting all the unix commands what is the difference ?

In our IT university learned unix on Redhat, and in our pc's with cygwin. If we could learn unix then you can learn too.

Answer 4

Suggest you go for the free VMware Server. Installation on windows fights you harder than on Linux beleive it or not, and you need IIS installed, but it does the job. Less tricky than vmware player in terms of setting up and running/reconfiguring vms, IMHO