WSL2 Installation

Posted on November 24, 2023 · 3 minute read

Introduction and aim

We will need to have a working Linux distribution for this class. Since most of you have been exposed to the Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) version 2 in previous classes, we will adopt WSL2 as the subsystem of use for our purposes in the class. In this document, we give you some pointers to install a working copy of the Ubuntu distribution as part of WSL2, clone the class repository, connect VSCode to the Ubuntu distribution, and some tips and tricks to access and manage your file.

Please make sure that you are running WSL2 and not WSL1. If you still need to run WSL1 for another class, then you can easily specify which version of WSL you want for each virtual machine you run.

WSL2 installation

If you do not have WSL2 and a Linux distribution already installed, Microsoft have created a great set of instructions that you can follow to enable wsl2 and install the latest stable distribution of Ubuntu (Feel free to use another distribution if you comfortable with it). These instructions can be found here.

If you run into any issues during the installation process, please make a post on the Moodle forum detailing the errors you faced along with the version of wsl2 that you can trying to install. One of your instructors (or fellow classmates) will reply to help you out as soon as possible.

[Optional] Installing the Windows terminal

In this class, you will need access to terminal emulator to install software and compile your labs code. When you install wsl2 (assuming you install the Ubuntu Linux distribution), a new Ubuntu terminal application will show up in your launchpad. You can use that terminal emulator for all the needs in this class.

Alternatively, you can use the Windows Terminal application which allows you to connect your terminal emulator to the different subsystems installed on your machine (like Windows Command Line prompt, PowerShell, and any Linux distribution you have installed using wsl2). Either applications (the Ubuntu terminal emulator or Windows Terminal) are equally good for this class, it is totally up to you to choose whichever application is more suitable for your needs.

Installing needed Linux software

After having a Linux distribution installed, you will need to install a few software packages to get you started in the class. To do so, open a Linux terminal (either through the Ubuntu terminal emulator or using Windows Terminal) and issue the following commands:

  $ sudo apt update

and then

  $ sudo apt install -y build-essential git \
        gdb \
        python3 \
        python-is-python3 \
        ipython3 \
        gdb-multiarch \
        qemu-system-misc \
        gcc-riscv64-linux-gnu \
        binutils-riscv64-linux-gnu

Some tips and tricks

Open the current directory in Windows Explorer

To submit your code to Gradescope, you will probably need access to your Linux files from the Windows File Explorer. You can easily access those from the Linux terminal emulator by first navigating to the desired repository and then using the following command:

$ explorer.exe .

A new file explorer window should show up that contains the content of your repository.

Other references

You have already used WSL2 in several classes prior to CSSE332, specifically, CSSE132. Therefore, if you need some more resources on WSL2, feel free to go back to the CSSE132 course webpage and check out the instructions there. Here is a direct link to the current version of those instructions.