The Ubuntu installer for creating a dual-boot machine is vastly easier to use now than it was a few years ago. I rather doubt that other Linux distributions would have put as much work into this as Ubuntu has. I tried to use Wubi but wasn't able to make that work; your results may vary.
Cygwin or Msys aren't substitutes for Linux. Rather, they provide Windows-runnable versions of Unix commands such as grep. I too am puzzled by the notion that he needs compilers. There is a free version of Microsoft Visual Studio that is completely adequate for serious work compiling a variety of languages, including C and C++. It's what I use to build VPython (vpython.org) binaries for Windows. Bruce On Sun, Feb 26, 2012 at 5:31 PM, Owen Densmore <[email protected]> wrote: > I have a friend who has an AMD processor based Windows system (Windows 7 > IIRC). > > He wishes to convert it to a dual-boot Windows/Linux system, with two > bootable partitions, one for each OS. > > Many years ago I did this sort of thing, but a lot has changed. > > Do any of us have experience with this? A good pointer/site on how to do > this? > > He does seem to be confused a bit about all the possibilities: > - Virtual Box > - Cygwin > - Dual boot (with both partitions being bootable) > - Which distro to use (He mainly wants to do development w/ C/C++ within the > mathematics world) > > I was surprised that he thought it necessary to use linux .. I presumed he > could do everything he wanted to do in Windows itself but apparently > compilers were not there and that sort of thing. I do know on the mac you > can install a "developer's sdk" for free (have to register) and presumed > that was also possible with Windows. > > Any pointers much appreciated! And alternatives too. > > -- Owen > > ============================================================ > FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv > Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College > lectures, archives, unsubscribe, maps at http://www.friam.org ============================================================ FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College lectures, archives, unsubscribe, maps at http://www.friam.org
