adamleerich

msys2 vs msys vs msysgit

MinGW doesn't provide a linux-like environment, that is MSYS(2) and/or Cygwin

Cygwin is an attempt to create a complete UNIX/POSIX environment on Windows. 
MinGW is a C/C++ compiler suite which allows you to create Windows executables - you only 
need the normal MSVC runtimes, which are part of any normal Microsoft Windows installation.

MinGW provides headers and libraries so that GCC (a compiler suite, 
not just a "unix/linux compiler") can be built and used against the Windows C runtime.