From memory I remember when they "acquired" the source from Sybase and one of the selling points was that they could strip out all the multi-platform complexity from the source code. Being windows-only meant it was simpler, less complex code, faster and less buggy.
It also confuses my view of what MS has been doing. Maybe Azure is more important than Windows now? Its going to be kinda weird to see SQL Server on Linux in Azure.
You're not thinking like a businessman. That purchase from Sybase 23 years ago and this announcement today have no technical justification. They're business decisions. The technical aspect is just a cost of doing business.
Their bet evidently is they can make more money selling SQL Server without Windows than with it.
From memory I remember when they "acquired" the source from Sybase and one of the selling points was that they could strip out all the multi-platform complexity from the source code. Being windows-only meant it was simpler, less complex code, faster and less buggy.
It also confuses my view of what MS has been doing. Maybe Azure is more important than Windows now? Its going to be kinda weird to see SQL Server on Linux in Azure.