My daily driver is FreeBSD (not a linux distro, I know). It has VirtualBox and bhyve (its homegrown virtualisation system), and runs most if not all software that runs on Linux. Plus the benefits of a very coherent system that's easy to grok. Also, very stable and dependable.
Ask HN: What is the best Linux distro for a development laptop?
171–180 of 329 posts
Re: Ask HN: What is the best Linux distro for a development laptop?
#172Once you really get down to it, there's practically no difference between them, other than the package manager and repositories. Personally I use Gentoo now because it doesn't have systemd and I like source-based packages; compiling everything is kind of a hassle sometimes though. I ran Arch for years and I really like it, the AUR especially is great.
Not sure why the downvote(s). There really isn't much difference, just a different pick of the problems.
As for systemd - it is the sole reason I haven't upgraded from Debian Wheezy yet and I am seriously considering switching to Gentoo too. And before somebody asks, yes, I have installed systems based on systemd (Ubuntu mostly) and I appreciate that it simplified boot process. But I have a very strong opinion about bundling all services under one roof with no alternatives. No thank you. If I wanted that I would use Windows or MacOS.
Re: Ask HN: What is the best Linux distro for a development laptop?
#173I've recently started experimenting with NixOS on my secondary (testbed) laptop at home. (My main home laptop has Windows, while at work we use Ubuntu.) Based on that and posts on this thread, I'd say if you're willing to consider Arch, I'd seriously suggest it might be worth adding NixOS to your list too. In my experience, at some cost, it gives you one particular super -power, that I've never seen anywhere yet. Spe…
NixOS has my vote.
On the first ~CON: If the "end user" is a developer that is new to nix and nix expressions, the transparency of nixpkgs and its nix expressions may turn tweaking from a problem into an opportunity. Seeing the details of builds, configs, and installs clearly laid out in a nix expression taught me more about the package that I was blindly depending on. Having the same tools (nix, nix-repl, nix-shell, *.nix) available across projects and vertically within developments has reduced the "special knowledge" that "end users" need to know for both development and operations.
Extra PRO: Have the expression for your configuration just perfect? Need to build on multiple VMs, machines, EC2? Simply add an expression for networking and deploy with Nixops https://nixos.org/nixops/. Now logical and physical configuration is a declarative data file. If a build fails, I check the source. If my cloud fails, I check the source.
For me, the reproducibility and variable independence in NixOS puts the SCIENCE in Computer Science.
Re: Ask HN: What is the best Linux distro for a development laptop?
#174Your options are pretty much limited to Ubuntu distros unless you don't mind spending hours configuring firmware. MY personal favorite is Lubuntu. It's a really slimmed down minimal distro with LXDE., Super memory/cpu efficient.
Re: Ask HN: What is the best Linux distro for a development laptop?
#175Your options are pretty much limited to Ubuntu distros unless you don't mind spending hours configuring firmware. MY personal favorite is Lubuntu. It's a really slimmed down minimal distro with LXDE., Super memory/cpu efficient.
Seconded Lubuntu is a great linux distro for your battery. The one thing that annoyed me a bit, when I used to use it, was the keybindings was not in the settings, and you had to go to some file and add them. Not sure if it is still this way, as that was 3+ years ago.
Re: Ask HN: What is the best Linux distro for a development laptop?
#176Hard to beat Ubuntu LTS. It has plenty of documentation and community support, has mostly up-to-date drivers and runs VirtualBox. LTS offers stability over several years. I use Xubuntu variant with i3. Moreover, I prefer to develop on the same OS I deploy to. ArchLinux: Great community but too many surprises when updating that sometimes break things or in one case left the OS unbootable. Fun to tinker with but if you…
Ubuntu is a good option. It is easy and things work. I've run virtualization of other Linux distros on it fine. The documentation and message boards are robust. The desktop bug reporting system has a lot of traffic (although it is not necessarily better).
If you need the very latest packages (although Ubuntu has PPA), or are developing for Linux itself, or want to know whether system components are all FLOSS, another distro might be better. For ease of setup and maintenance and stability, Ubuntu is good.
Re: Ask HN: What is the best Linux distro for a development laptop?
#177+1 for fedora here. Really very stable, "just works" experience. I have had nothing but trouble with Debian and its derivatives on my machine. In a VM they're fine, but on bare hardware they are a pure nightmare of dysfunction. Fedora was the first linux OS I was able to get going on my PC out of the box. Arch is good too - i hear a lot for that. I might look into that for a VM, but i'd lean more towards something li…
+1 for Fedora (KDE spin) as well, only distro I've ever found to reliably work on laptop hardware consistently.
It's very actively developed though so sometimes kernel upgrades break propriety drivers, but that is extremely infrequent and is easy to fix.
Re: Ask HN: What is the best Linux distro for a development laptop?
#178Hard to beat Ubuntu LTS. It has plenty of documentation and community support, has mostly up-to-date drivers and runs VirtualBox. LTS offers stability over several years. I use Xubuntu variant with i3. Moreover, I prefer to develop on the same OS I deploy to. ArchLinux: Great community but too many surprises when updating that sometimes break things or in one case left the OS unbootable. Fun to tinker with but if you…
Running Ubuntu LTS on personal machine + cloud servers. Pros: - It's stable - Easy to replicate same environment on home/cloud machines - Handles millions of request daily, just fine - Almost all popular s/w packages are easily available Cons: - Some advanced manufacturer specific laptop features/drivers don't work out of the box - No real complaints. I'm getting great value for no money.
Yeah that imo best. I do donate 10$ during every year upgrade.
Re: Ask HN: What is the best Linux distro for a development laptop?
#179Debian and I'm surprised more people aren't saying so. Ubuntu or Mint, which are built on Debian do not add much value these days, IMO and Ubuntu's 6 month release cycle is intolerable. If you get behind with upgrades you are screwed.
Even after all these years it's hard to beat apt-get. I think a lot of people dismiss Debian as unmodern or some how less than the distros built on it but that's hardly the case. Debian "testing" has all the latest software and yet is still very stable. Many people are scared away by the "testing" release but this is what Ubuntu and Mint are based off of.
I find Arch, Gentoo and many others to be a lot of work. I don't have time to spend fiddling around with the OS.
Don't get me started on Fedora/CentOS/RedHat. yum/rpm is just horrible if you've used nearly anything else. I think the only reason this OS family is still alive is because RedHat managed to sell so many copies to big corps and universities. I think people still use it mainly because they were exposed to it at school or work and don't know any better.
Re: Ask HN: What is the best Linux distro for a development laptop?
#180I'd say Ubuntu or Fedora. I found both to be quite polished so you just need to install your development tools without having to configure anything else.