updated wsl2 page - added comparison table

public/wsl2.md

@@ -15,16 +15,31 @@ One Ansible playbook installs PHP, Apache, MariaDB, Composer, Node.js and phpMyA
 - [Read the docs](https://docs.dotkernel.org/development/v2/terminal/)
 - [View on GitHub](https://github.com/dotkernel/development/tree/alma-linux-10)
 
-| | |
-| --- | --- |
-| Distro | AlmaLinux 10 |
-| Provisioning | Ansible |
-| Host | WSL 2 or bare metal |
+|              |                     |
+|--------------|---------------------|
+| Distro       | AlmaLinux 10        |
+| Provisioning | Ansible             |
+| Host         | WSL 2 or bare metal |
 
 ## Terminal to running stack
 
 Terminal -> WSL 2 -> AlmaLinux -> Ansible -> Ready.
 
+## Comparison with Popular Stacks
+
+Here is a direct comparison between WSL2, XAMPP, Laragon, DDEV, and Docker to help you choose the best development environment for your workflow.
+
+| Feature                   | WSL2                                                                                                                         | XAMPP                                                                                                            | Laragon                                                                                                | DDEV                                                                                              | Docker                                                                                                                                                  |
+|---------------------------|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
+| **Primary Use Case**      | Running a real Linux environment on Windows via a managed VM.                                                                | Quick all-in-one Apache/MariaDB/PHP/Perl stack for local development.                                            | Fast, portable PHP/Node development stack on Windows.                                                  | Per-project PHP/CMS (and Node.js) development environments built on Docker.                       | General-purpose containerization for any tech stack.                                                                                                    |
+| **Core Architecture**     | Real Linux kernel in a lightweight utility VM; distros run as isolated containers inside it.                                 | Native executables run as host processes (optionally as services).                                               | Portable native Windows binaries; doesn't use Windows Services.                                        | Orchestration layer that generates and runs Docker containers per project, plus a shared router.  | Containers sharing the host kernel on Linux; on Windows/macOS, Docker Desktop runs the engine inside a Linux VM (WSL2/Hyper-V or Apple Virtualization). |
+| **Depends On**            | Windows virtualization support.                                                                                              | Nothing.                                                                                                         | Nothing.                                                                                               | A Docker provider (Docker CE, Docker Desktop, OrbStack, Rancher, etc.); on Windows, usually WSL2. | Native on Linux; WSL2 or Hyper-V on Windows; a VM on macOS.                                                                                             |
+| **OS Support**            | Windows 10 (1903+, build 18362+), Windows 11, Windows Server.                                                                | Windows and Linux (PHP up to 8.2.12); macOS build lags (PHP up to 8.2.4); XAMPP-VM unsupported on Apple Silicon. | Windows only.                                                                                          | macOS, Windows (WSL2 or traditional), Linux, GitHub Codespaces.                                   | Windows, macOS, Linux.                                                                                                                                  |
+| **Resource Usage**        | Low to Medium (small footprint at idle; memory grows dynamically, capped by default at a share of host RAM).                 | Low (runs directly on host processes).                                                                           | Very Low (lightweight, no background services).                                                        | Medium to High (Docker overhead plus several containers per project; varies by provider).         | Low on native Linux; Medium to High with Docker Desktop's VM.                                                                                           |
+| **Environment Isolation** | Partial (separate Linux filesystem and kernel, but deliberately integrated with Windows files, networking, and executables). | None (shared global install, ports, and PHP version).                                                            | Self-contained install, no per-project isolation (projects share services and the active PHP version). | Container-level per project (own web and DB containers), with a shared router on ports 80/443.    | Container-level (process, filesystem, and network namespaces; shared kernel, so weaker than a VM).                                                      |
+| **Production Parity**     | Depends on what you install (it's a Linux OS, not a stack).                                                                  | Low (Windows paths and config differ from production; vendor states it's not for production).                    | Low (Windows paths differ from Linux servers).                                                         | High if versions are matched (standardized Linux containers, not your production images).         | High; identical only if the exact same image is deployed to production.                                                                                 |
+| **License / Cost**        | Free (part of Windows).                                                                                                      | Free, open source.                                                                                               | Laragon 6 free; versions 7+ require a paid license.                                                    | Free, open source.                                                                                | Docker Engine free and open source; Docker Desktop requires a paid subscription for larger businesses.                                                  |
+
 ## The same OS family your servers run
 
 AlmaLinux is a RHEL-compatible distribution, so the packages, package manager and service conventions you use locally - `dnf`, `systemd` and the rest - are the ones you will see again in staging and production.