10. Summary and Conclusions
Cygwin is a UNIX-compatibility library that can
be used to port UNIX software to Win32 operating systems. In this
paper, I have examined our motivations for writing Cygwin. I have
analyzed its architecture in some detail, paying extra attention to
those areas where UNIX and Win32 differ the most. I have listed
examples of successfully ported software and touched on performance
issues. I have discussed where we expect to take Cygwin in the
future. Finally, I have described the proprietary alternatives to our
library.
As you can see from the list of ported software
presented earlier in this paper, Cygwin can be used to facilitate
greatly the process of porting significant UNIX applications to Win32
hosts. For some applications, it may be desirable to invest in a true
native Win32 port in order to remove the overhead imposed by Cygwin.
However, the increased portability and time saved by using Cygwin
should make it an attractive option in many
situations.
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