Yesterday, a new version of WSL, Version 0.50.2, was released, and it adds quite a bit of interesting new features and a new logo to the mix. Here’s everything you need to know about the release and the new features.
Microsoft’s WSL is a great tool for users who want to get started with Linux in a jiffy without going through the process of installing a Linux distribution. The giant recently added the ability to run Linux GUI apps on WSL2, and the overall WSL experience has gotten better since its first release in 2016.
WSL 0.50.2 Released: What’s New?
First up, let’s talk about the new logo. Microsoft didn’t originally have a logo for WSL on the Microsoft Store, but now they do, and it looks cute. The logo is, you guessed it, Linux’s signature Tux, but only the head, which looks like it was designed based on the new emoji that was recently added in Windows 11.
There are lots of other features. Here’s a list of them.
- Enable hardware performance counters if the hardware supports them [GH 4678]
A USERPROFILE%\.wslconfig option has been added to opt-out:[wsl2] hardwarePerformanceCounters=false - Fix issue when printing system error messages that contain inserts.
- Update the user tile to launch in the user’s home directory instead of C:\WINDOWS\System32
- Restore default signal dispositions for /etc/wsl.conf boot.command process to prevent zombie processes [GH 7575]
- Switch to using a static CRT for Windows binaries
- Use store API to download distributions via wsl.exe –install
- Add –no-launch option to wsl.exe –install
- Lots of updates to localized strings.
- Update to the official 22000 sdk
- Strip Linux symbols for release builds
- Update Linux kernel to 5.10.74.3
- Update to upstream stable kernel release 5.10.74
- Enable BPF Type Format (CONFIG_DEBUG_INFO_BTF) for use by eBPF tools [GH 7437]
- Changed Dxgkrnl version to 2110
- Implemented D3DKMTShareObjectWithHost
- Fixed QueryStatistics VM bus alignment issue for the result
- Implemented D3DKMTCreateSyncFile
- Address upstream submission feedback
- Moved d3dkmthk to include/uapi/misc
- Replaces u32 by __u32 and u64 by __u64
- Added “_” in front of the enumerator values to support including both WDK and Linux headers
- Removed holes in the user mode visible structures to be compatible with 32 bit apps
- Replaces pointer in user mode visible structures with a define to be u64 for user mode apps
- Fix build failure with GCC versions older than 8.1 [GH 7558]
- Enable the Buffer Sharing and Sync File Frameworks (CONFIG_DMA_SHARED_BUFFER, CONFIG_SYNC_FILE) for Dxgkrnl usage
If you’re new to Linux or WSL and want to learn more about it, we’ve got tons of tutorials and guides on the blog, so make sure to check them out.
Have you ever used WSL before? What was your experience like? Make sure to share it in the comments section below.
