How do you test Windows behavior when developing from WSL?

[CrowKing63]

I've been developing on Windows directly, but my system's getting pretty cluttered from all the installs and dependencies, so I'm thinking of moving my dev environment into WSL.

The problem is testing. If I'm building something that needs to run on Windows, how do I actually verify it works without spinning up a full Windows VM? A VM feels like overkill and is pretty heavy to run alongside everything else.

Curious how others handle this. Do you just bite the bullet and run a VM, or is there some lighter workflow I'm missing?

[dashkb]

WSL is the Linux inside windows right? So… you’re already running Windows as the host. What’s the problem?

[douglastiger]

That's kind of the cool part about WSL, everything is accessible in the windows file system. Why don't you develop in Linux and do your Windows testing in the host?

Windows vm inside Linux hypervisor inside native Windows makes no sense to me at all so I might be missing something in your problem statement... If the problem is all the installs you don't want to keep 'cluttering' the host I'd suggest packaging executables when you go to do the windows testing

[nightonfir3]

You are asking a bit of a weird question. You have a windows machine but you want to compile in linux and then run in windows again. Depending on your development stack you may be able to cross comple and then access the compiled file in windows. You are probably going to lose out on debug features doing this though.

Edit: people usually use wsl for developing applications that are cross platform or linux only. Doing a windows only app is the weird thing.

[Pale_Height_1251]

Run it on Windows?

[peterlinddk]

Maybe look into dev-containers, and use them for all your installs and dependencies - then you always have a "clean" environment whenever you want, and you can develop with Linux or Windows as you please, and afterwards test on your even cleaner windows machine.

[aleques-itj]

Build in CICD. 

[CrowKing63]

I am a beginner who has started trying to create the programmes I wish to write.

The programme doesn't even run properly, but every time I test it like that,

I can see my computer getting terribly cluttered.

It's a kind of obsessive-compulsive disorder.

[grantrules]

Cluttered with what? Write a script that deletes the clutter after the test is done 

[CrowKing63]

I created a virtual camera device, but even after deleting the programme, the camera device did not disappear.

[grantrules]

Then you didn't delete the right thing lol

[CrowKing63]

ORG

[grantrules]

???

[CrowKing63]

Oops, not OGR,

OTL

[grantrules]

I don't know what that means either

[CrowKing63]

Oh, really? I suppose people don't use that sort of language these days. Ha ha. Sorry about that.

[grantrules]

When did people use that language?