Merge pull request #153 from yast/wsl_doc

Updated and extended the WSL documentation

doc/testing_wsl.md

@@ -1,19 +1,108 @@
-## Testing WSL Changes
+## Testing the WSL Changes
 
-This document serve as reminder how is the optimal way to test changes done for WSL firstboot as working with
-windows server can be linux unfriendly and we would like to test without any mocking to get the best results.
+This document describes how to test the firstboot workflow in Microsoft Windows
+using the WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux) support. You can test the changes in
+a Linux machine but ideally we would like to test them without any mocking to
+get the best results.
 
-### Creating Testing APPX
+If you are not familiar with WSL then check the [WSL
+documentation](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/wsl/).
 
-The easiest way is to use OBS. Find the target release for WSL image like `SUSE:SLE-15-SP6:Update:WSL`
-and branch there `kiwi-images-wsl` that is responsible for creation of appx. In your branch create package
-yast2-firstboot ( as it is usually inherited from target and does not live in WSL subproject ) and copy there
-modified sources with rake tarball. It is also mandatory to link or branch package `wsl-appx` as it ensures
-that certificate used for appx matches with the one used in kiwi.
-Another important think is to ensure that certificate for home repo is valid and not outdated. To check it use
-`osc signkey --sslcert home:...` and if it is invalid use `osc signkey --sslcert --create home:...`.
+### WSL Installation
+
+There a two versions of WSL, WSL1 and WSL2. The WSL2 is newer and is the default
+installed version. In general it should work better and should be preferred.
+
+Unfortunately the WSL2 does not work in some virtualization environments. If you
+run your Windows instance in a VirtualBox VM then you will get an error. In that
+case you should switch to WSL1.
+
+See more details about the WSL versions and their differences in the
+[documentation](
+https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/wsl/compare-versions#comparing-wsl-1-and-wsl-2).
+
+#### Hints
+
+In Windows 10 install the [Microsoft
+Terminal](https://apps.microsoft.com/detail/9n0dx20hk701) application. In
+Windows 11 it is installed by default.
+
+It has several nice features like tabs, full screen mode or font
+resizing. It feels more close to the usual Linux terminals, it is much better
+than a plain PowerShell window...
+
+#### Installing WSL1
+
+If you want to explicitly use WSL1 then first run these commands in Terminal or
+PowerShell:
+
+- Start the `wsl --install --no-distribution` command
+- Reboot the system
+- Windows 11 by default do not install WSL1, run `OptionalFeatures.exe` and
+  select "Windows Subsystem for Linux", then reboot. This is not needed in
+  Windows 10.
+- Run `wsl --set-default-version 1`
+
+Then continue in the WSL2 installation section below.
+
+#### Installing WSL2
+
+The WSL2 is the default version, if you want to install WSL1 then first run the
+commands in the previous section.
+
+Install the official SLE15-SP6 image:
+
+    wsl --install -d SUSE-Linux-Enterprise-15-SP6
+
+This will download and install the SLE15-SP6 image and then start the WSL
+machine. At the first run it starts the firstboot workflow.
+
+If you want to start the machine later then either find it in the start menu or
+just run `wsl` command in Terminal or select the SLE15-SP6 Terminal profile.
+
+### Testing Firstboot
+
+If you install the SUSE-Linux-Enterprise-15-SP6 then it runs automatically the
+firstboot workflow at the first start.
+
+If you want to test your modified package then abort it at the very first
+"Welcome" screen and install an updated package using `rpm` or `zypper`.
+
+To start the firstboot workflow again then just run:
+
+    /usr/lib/YaST2/startup/YaST2.Firstboot
+
+### Creating a Testing APPX
+
+In most cases you can simply update the yast2-firstboot RPM package (see the
+previous section). But if you really need to build your own WSL image then it is
+possible.
+
+The WSL uses the standard APPX format which is used for distributing the normal
+Windows applications. An APPX file is basically a ZIP archive so you can easily
+inspect it when needed. A WSL APPX image contains a tarball with complete Linux
+root tree.
+
+The easiest way to build your own WSL image is to use OBS. Find the target
+release for WSL image like `SUSE:SLE-15-SP6:Update:WSL` and branch there
+`kiwi-images-wsl` that is responsible for creation of APPX.
+
+In your branch create package yast2-firstboot (as it is usually inherited from
+target and does not live in WSL subproject) and copy there modified sources
+generated with `rake tarball`.
+
+It is also mandatory to link or branch package `wsl-appx` as it ensures that
+the certificate used for the APPX image matches with the one used in kiwi.
+
+Another important thing is to ensure that the certificate for your home
+repository is valid and not outdated. Check it with the `osc signkey --sslcert
+home:...` command and if it is invalid then use `osc signkey --sslcert --create
+home:...` to create a new certificate.
 
 ### Installing Modified APPX
 
-Just follow instructions at https://en.opensuse.org/WSL/Manual_Installation
-Appx installer reports quite useless error when there is any issue, so use help at https://en.opensuse.org/WSL/Debugging_Hints
+Just follow [these
+instructions](https://en.opensuse.org/WSL/Manual_Installation).
+
+If the APPX installer fails then check these [debugging
+hints](https://en.opensuse.org/WSL/Debugging_Hints).