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[-] fakeplastic@lemmy.dbzer0.com 0 points 1 day ago

It's a subsystem of Windows. Therefore, a Windows Subsystem. I don't know what else would make sense. A "subsystem of Linux for Windows" wouldn't make sense. They don't call their other features "Notepad for Windows" or "Defender for Windows."

[-] Zagorath@aussie.zone 24 points 1 day ago

It’s a subsystem of Windows

If I say "the life support system for the USS Enterprise", nobody thinks that that's a system running on the life support that gives you the USS Enterprise. It's a system running on the USS Enterprise that gives you life support. Windows Subsystem for Linux sounds like it's a system running on Linux that gives you access to Windows.

[-] HumanPenguin@feddit.uk 3 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

If I say “the life support system for the USS Enterprise”,

Unfortunately contact mean that example dose work both ways.

If we say enterprise system for life support. People will also understand.

But voyager system for enterprise could apply either way. To be fitted to enterprise or allow enterprise activity on voyager. Or voyager activity on enterprise. For is just bad language in this context.

Here Microsoft should've used a possessive. Voyagers enterprise support system would be more normal.

Or Windows Linux support system.

But marketing and a history of no other OS matters means Mickey$oft insists on it's own layout. Over language clarity.

[-] atzanteol@sh.itjust.works 13 points 1 day ago

You say "The Windows Memory Subsystem" not "The Windows Subsystem for Memory".

Windows Linux Subsystem would likely be most clear.

[-] unwarlikeExtortion@lemmy.ml 1 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

It's a Linux subsystem for Windows. As in, you run Windows and within it run Linux. Thus Linux is the sub-system, while Windows is the "overarching" system. Therefore, it's Linux running as a subsystem on a Windows machine. Therefore, a Linux subsystem on/for Windows.

<edit>

That was just setting the two viewpoints equal.

Now, to add why this one is more "correct": when talking about Windows (or Linux or anything else fir that matter) subsystems, you don't call the Windows file system the Windows subsystem for Files or the Windows subsystem for Networking or Linux subsystem for RNG - You call them the filesystem, the networking system or the RNG system. And since none of them get the "for host" suffix, it seems natural to assume it's the guest system that's the "sub" system, with the other one being the whole.

</edit>

[-] Ferk@lemmy.ml 2 points 1 day ago

This depends entirely of what you mean by "of Windows" and what you mean by "for Linux". This terminology is ambiguous.

Are you a Lemmy user for lemmy.world, or are you a lemmy.world user for Lemmy?

It's also inconsistent because when they say, for example, "Microsoft Azure Linux Container Host for AKS", they are talking about running a Microsoft Azure Linux Container inside of AKS, not a container that is meant to be used for running AKS within it...

[-] siha@feddit.uk 7 points 1 day ago

Does 'Notepad subsystem for Linux' sound to you like a Windows or Linux subsystem?

[-] fakeplastic@lemmy.dbzer0.com 0 points 1 day ago

It sounds like a subsystem of notepad because that's the word used as the modifier.

[-] randomcruft@lemmy.sdf.org 6 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

On Windows MS may not call it Defender for Windows… but for Azure, it’s Defender for Cloud, Defender for Containers, Defender for SQL Databases, etc.

Microsoft Defender for Cloud overview

So really it’s just more of Microsoft’s generally crappy naming conventions… I’m looking at you Entra ID!!

edit: added link

🙂

[-] nanook@friendica.eskimo.com 2 points 1 day ago

@randomcruft @fakeplastic I'm not real comfortable with my data on someone else's computer, but triply so if that somebody is Microsoft, Gargoyle, or Amazon.

this post was submitted on 19 May 2025
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Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).

Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.

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