Why does Linux run so well on ARM

Xusontha@ls.buckodr.ink to Linux@lemmy.ml – 148 points –

I've seen people talking about it and experienced it myself with a server, but why does Linux run so well on ARM (especially compared to Windows)?

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Windows, by contrast, was built for descendants of the Intel 8088, period.

This is not quite true. Windows NT was built to support multiple architectures from the start.

NT is not the majority of windows code though; for windows to be multi architecture, all of windows needs to work with the new architecture; NT, drivers & userspace.

For Linux, if an existing userspace application doesn't work in aarch64, somebody somewhere will build a port. For windows, so much of their stuff is proprietary that Microsoft are the only ones able to build that port.

Not because "windows bad", just a consequence of such a locked down system which doesn't have anything open source to inherit.