Getting a Linux(-like) Terminal on Your Machine
===============================================

.. _linux_windows:

Ubuntu/Linux on Windows
-----------------------

The native command line interface in Windows is conceptually similar to that of Linux, but uses different syntax and very different programs.
Luckily you can install what is called the `Windows Subsystem for Linux <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_Subsystem_for_Linux>`__ (WSL),
which essentially gives you a Linux distribution inside Windows. When installed you can then open a Linux terminal and other Linux programs
in the same manner as if you only had Linux installed.

See `this guide <https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/wsl/install>`__ for instructions for how to install WSL and Ubuntu.
To be able to run Linux programs with a graphical user interface you can try out `this guide <https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/wsl/tutorials/gui-apps>`__,
but note that as of the time of writing this feature seems somewhat experimental and requires a recent version of Windows 11.


Linux on macOS?
---------------

The command line interface in macOS is almost the same as in any Linux distrubution.
The short `story <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Unix>`__ is that macOS is a variant of Unix, and Linux started as a free reimplementation of Unix.
However, note that sometimes there are subtle differences in which commands exist, their flags, and sometimes in functionality.