Unix-style tools on Windows?

You want cygwin -- and secondarily, for when you absolutely have to work in a CMD.EXE console, unxutils.

Try MinGW, the Minimalist GNU for Windows. Here's a list of GNU tools they offer: http://sourceforge.net/projects/mingw/files/

This includes things like bash, sed, awk, grep, cut, and other familiar GNU tools. Perl is in there as well. I find it a good light-weight alternative to Cygwin.

On windows, you will miss the great GNU/Linux/Unix tools like sed, awk, wget, grep, tr, locate, file, dd, diff,

I wouldn't recommend cygwin though, I prefer native tools.

You can find native ports of the GNU tools athttp://gnuwin32.sourceforge.net/

Then you need a decent syntax highlighter, notepad is just an antique.Geany is best on Linux, and there is a windows port:http://www.geany.org/Download/Releases

There is also a windows port of The Gimp, free and opensource, offers the same and more functions as adobe photoshop (but with another interface). It's modest bit more difficult to use, though.http://gimp-win.sourceforge.net/

For a C/C++/Lisp/Ada compiler and makefiles, you need MinGW, Minimalist GNU for Windows, together with msys (a linux like console).Unlike cygwin, mingw and msys compile native win applications.

Windows doesn't have Perl installed by default.You can download a free Perl interpreter from http://www.activestate.com/

Finally, you could install CoLinux, with which you can run Linux apps. on Windows.CoLinux is hard to install, AFAIK, and you can mess up your computer if you don't know what you do.

If you have Vista Ultimate or XP, you can install SUA/WSU, Windows Services for Unix.On Vista, it's in the OS Components tab under add/remove software in the control panelOn XP, you must download 300 MB from Microsoft.