Windows

Mentioned

Platform

Also known as: Windows 11, PowerShell, WSL

Microsoft’s operating system. Developers use PowerShell or WSL to get a Linux terminal.

Windows, explained

Written by EduVerse

Windows is Microsoft’s operating system and the standard on many company laptops. For development you mostly use PowerShell as your shell, and WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux) to run a real Linux distribution, such as Ubuntu, right next to your Windows apps.

Why teams use it

Windows is the natural home of .NET, Visual Studio and many enterprise tools, and with WSL you no longer need a separate Linux machine for Linux-based work. Paths, line endings and shell syntax do differ from Linux and macOS, which causes the usual cross-platform surprises in scripts and builds.

An example from work

You run ./deploy.sh in WSL and get /bin/bash^M: bad interpreter. The file was checked out on Windows with CRLF line endings. A .gitattributes rule that forces LF for .sh files, followed by checking the file out again, fixes it.

Our own explanation, not a quote from the book.

In the book

Sentences from The Software Realm, Decoded that mention Windows, exactly as printed.

What they say
“Open a terminal and run this command.”
What they mean
Open the text-based interface (Terminal on Mac/Linux, PowerShell or Git Bash on Windows) and type exactly what I’m about to show you, then press Enter.
Chapter 1 · 1.2.1 What Is the Terminal, Really? · p. 24Open in the free preview
Senior developer
“Same files you see in Finder or Windows Explorer.”
Chapter 1 · 1.2.2 The Essential Commands You'll Actually Use · p. 24Open in the free preview
Senior developer
“Windows developers use WSL or Git Bash to get Linux commands.”
Chapter 1 · 1.2.4 Why Linux Matters (Even on Mac and Windows) · p. 25Open in the free preview

Where it fits

Developer workstation, .NET development, enterprise desktops

Coverage in the book