The two operating systems Windows and Linux are competitors in many respects. Users often swear by their chosen system. Therefore, they only work with its corresponding programs and have little to no contact with the other system. However, it may be necessary to use the other system’s applications, which can cause major problems to arise.
Operating systems interact with software differently, which is why Linux programs are not compatible with Windows and vice versa. Cygwin provides a solution. The runtime environment ensures that Linux programs can also be used in Windows.
Cygwin allows programs designed for Linux or Unix to be portioned which allows them to work on Windows. Cygwin acts only as an intermediate layer. Its counterpart Wine provides Windows binaries directly for Linux. Programs cannot be used directly, but they are be recompiled and adapted for the Windows environment.