[1] I can't bring myself to use the term 'Linux' here, because, ironically, Linux is the primary missing part in this Ubuntu distribution. It should really be called WSG or WSU.
If you install an X server, such as VcXsrv and set the DISPLAY variable (typically export DISPLAY=:0 will suffice), you can just run X11 apps. For instance, here's a screenshot of a Prolog/Tk application running on WSL:
https://danieldk.eu/Posts/2017-01-10-Alpino-Windows/alpino-w...
I have installed Windows on a workstation just to try WSL out and it's quite impressive. Many regular applications just work. I could build Ubuntu packages and upload them to my PPA (I just had to use fakeroot-tcp to replace fakeroot).
Of course, there are also things that don't work for obvious reasons. E.g. because they require facilities deep in the kernel (performance counters/perf) or because they require kernel modules and hardware access (running CUDA programs).
https://wpdev.uservoice.com/forums/266908-command-prompt-con...
Er, about that: https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/commandline/2016/11/17/do-n...
DO NOT, under ANY circumstances, create and/or modify Linux files using Windows apps, tools, scripts, consoles, etc.
Edit: downvoting accurate information that was previously posted on HN? Really?
I think this is a masterstroke by Microsoft, since it will give Windows the best of both worlds. Something that only OS X had so far.
Of course, it's not for everyone. People might be morally opposed to proprietary software or want UNIX all the way down.
I like a Linux/GNU terminal, but I prefer windows GUI to X, I find all laptops I have owned work better under windows than linux, I prefer outlook to mutt/thunderbird, and many of my games only run on windows. (Obviously, other people's opinion can be different!)
https://gist.github.com/jibsen/7ebeddde3bc2bfd421b96ae53a824...