When comparing CLink vs VirtualBox w/ any Linux distro + Terminator, the Slant community recommends VirtualBox w/ any Linux distro + Terminator for most people. In the question“What are the best terminal emulators for Windows?” VirtualBox w/ any Linux distro + Terminator is ranked 31st while CLink is ranked 38th. The most important reason people chose VirtualBox w/ any Linux distro + Terminator is:
Allows you to run your virtual machines pre-configured by you or others. Virtual Box versions for: -- Windows 7/8/10 -- All Linux installations -- MAC OS x -- Solaris 10/11 Virtual OSs include: -- Oracle Linux 5/6/7.x (RHEL clones) -- Solaris10/11 -- Occassionally a Windows Beta Oracle itself provides many free VMs, pre-configured with various software stacks and hands-on lab materials for learning, geared toward. These have helped me earn three of my Oracle certifications: -- Oracle Database development -- Oracle DBA -- MySQL development -- Java Standard/Enterprise development -- Big data -- Webcenter portal & others Pre-installed software in or more of the various stacks includes: -- Oracle Database 11/12 -- JDK/Eclipse -- Enterprise Mgr -- MySQL -- WebLogic -- Cloudera, etc.
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Pros
Pro Transforms cmd.exe into something bearable
Cmd.exe is still irreplaceable for many tasks on Windows. This makes the experience less painful.
Pro Can easily search in history
The user can search in history by simply pressing Ctrl+R.
Pro Runs Pre-configured virtual machines
Allows you to run your virtual machines pre-configured by you or others.
Virtual Box versions for:
-- Windows 7/8/10
-- All Linux installations
-- MAC OS x
-- Solaris 10/11
Virtual OSs include:
-- Oracle Linux 5/6/7.x (RHEL clones)
-- Solaris10/11
-- Occassionally a Windows Beta
Oracle itself provides many free VMs, pre-configured with various software stacks and hands-on lab materials for learning, geared toward. These have helped me earn three of my Oracle certifications:
-- Oracle Database development
-- Oracle DBA
-- MySQL development
-- Java Standard/Enterprise development
-- Big data
-- Webcenter portal & others
Pre-installed software in or more of the various stacks includes:
-- Oracle Database 11/12
-- JDK/Eclipse
-- Enterprise Mgr
-- MySQL
-- WebLogic
-- Cloudera, etc.
Pro Supports modern shells
Whether you prefer zsh, bash, or fish, Linux will support it.
Pro Isolated from Windows
VirtualBox provides almost total isolation from Windows running underneath it, removing a lot of security issues.
Pro Free / Libre Software
While the OS underneath it is proprietary and does spy on you or actively violate your freedom, so to speak, you can still have a little piece of mind knowing that VirtualBox (your Linux distro and shell of choice) as well as Terminator are all FOSS.
Cons
Con Supports cmd.exe not the successor platform
It's for cmd.exe which was abandoned by Microsoft in the favor of PowerShell. Using PowerShell is more effective than cmd.exe even with CLink, unfortunatelly.
Con Install a whole operating system for one program
You would need to install the entire Linux distribution just for one single program.
Con Slightly slower than just running Linux
The Windows + VirtualBox layer introduces some overhead that wouldn't be present if Linux were installed directly on the machine.