andLinux
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| andLinux | |
|---|---|
 Virtualization software |
|
| Developed by | David Solomon and Joachim Gehweiler |
| Latest release | Beta 1 (Final) / April 21, 2008 |
| OS | Windows, Linux |
| Genre | Emulator, Virtualization Software |
| License | GPL |
| Website | andlinux.org |
andLinux is a Linux distribution running on Microsoft Windows natively, i.e. without any further virtualization software.
Contents |
[edit] Overview
andLinux is a complete Ubuntu Linux running natively on Windows 2000 based systems (2000, XP, 2003, Vista; only 32-bit versions).
andLinux is based on coLinux which is only suitable for the advanced user since its installation and configuration requires an expert's knowledge. coLinux is a port of the Linux kernel to Windows. In contrast to the well-known virtualization solutions such as Vmware or Virtual PC, coLinux is executed natively under Windows. Beside coLinux, andLinux contains the X server Xming and the sound server PulseAudio as further core components.
An additional advantage of andLinux is its seamless integration into Windows: There is no second desktop; instead the windows of the Linux applications are nearly indistinguishably merged among the Windows applications, and you are able to exchange text between Windows and Linux applications using copy+paste. You can access the Windows filesystem from andLinux, so that you do not have to spread your files over two partitions. There are quicklaunch icons for the most common Linux applications and, in the systray area of the taskbar, a second start menu for the Linux applications which can be adapted to your needs. Finally, andLinux provides so-called Windows Explorer shell extensions which enable you, using the context menu, to open a certain folder in the Linux file browser or terminal as well as to open files in your Linux text editor.
andLinux is not just for development; instead, it runs almost all Linux applications without modification in a Windows environment.
[edit] Installation
andLinux is currently available in two versions: a minimalistic XFCE version and a KDE version. In both cases, andLinux distinguishes itself by an extremely easy setup using Windows Installer package. During setup, the user can choose between several configuration options, e.g. if he wishes to automatically start andLinux as NT service, or whether he prefers to access the Windows file system using COFS or Samba. Normally, the user only has to adapt the configuration of his firewall manually.
[edit] Extensions
There have already been some extensions contributed by the andLinux community, e.g. a LAMP plugin which turns andLinux, by typing just two commands, into a complete web development suite consisting of Apache, MySQL, PHP + PEAR, Perl, ProFTPD, phpMyAdmin, and many more.
