[petsc-dev] WSL upgrade

[Satish Balay]

On Thu, 13 Apr 2017, Jed Brown wrote:

> Satish Balay <balay at mcs.anl.gov> writes:
> >> I don't use Windows for anything, but I always hear Windows users being
> >> reluctant to use Cygwin, even if only to build software.  My perception
> >> is that they would be more amenable to using WSL to build.
> >
> > Users might perceive WSL to be easier than cygwin - but that doesn't remove the complexity that exists.
> 
> Yes, but getting to the point of running ./configure is the first
> hurdle, and possibly the most significant hurdle for Windows users.

Its similar in both cases.. [folks might disagre which one is simpler
- but current marketing is favoring WSL]

Right now - cygwin is universal - and WSL (with linux interpo) is only on Win10+Creators

Cygwin Install:
- download cygwin setup.exe
- run setup.exe
- select the recommended packages in the GUI [which our installation instructions list]
- run to completion.
PETSc install:
run 'compiler cmd'
run bash from this cmd
<download/configure PETSc>

WSL Install:
- make sure you have the correct OS version that supports it <google for some faq which has the reqs listed>
- search for 'windows features' in settings [again if you don't remember the keyword to search for - google for WSL instructions]
- search for 'use developer features' in settings and enable it [presumably this requirement will go away eventually]
- run bash - and complete 'ubuntu' setup. [with account creation etc..]
- now install recommended packages 'sudo apt-get install .....' [we would provide this list of packages]
PETSc install:
run 'compiler cmd'
run bash from this cmd
<download/configure PETSc>

Sure cygwin has some quirks that affect users [that generates e-mail
traffic]. WSL appears to have some too - [we haven't gotten to having
a successful petsc install yet so don't know all of them - and if they
will generate e-mail traffic or not].

Satish