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Ask HN: Why use Linux for coding?

news.ycombinator.com

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Re: Ask HN: Why use Linux for coding?

#31

Post by planteen »

bjourne wrote: post #20
jetti wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Compare compiling C++ code with Visual Studio vs. gcc. That is not a valid comparison as Visual Studio is an IDE and gcc is the compiler. It would be no different if you were using CLion from Jetbrains on Linux to do C/C++ work. The compiling would be handled all through the IDE. You are more than able to get down and handle building C++ from command line by using cl

I know you can use cl.exe directly, but it is not the same. For example, you can't even suppress its output completely. https://social.msdn.microsoft.com/Forums/vstudio/en-US/9eabe...

As much as I dislike MSVC, I'm still not sure that's a fair comparison. I've used cl.exe in large, complex makefiles to build programs that could also change CC and CXX to gcc or clang. And as far as output suppression goes, couldn't you pipe it somewhere else? I've had to do the same trick on Linux utils (pipe to /dev/null).

Re: Ask HN: Why use Linux for coding?

#32

Post by brudgers »

lucideer wrote: post #18
brudgers wrote: post #11

To the degree there is a better operating system for starting to program, the operating system a beginner uses is orders of magnitude less important than just sitting down and writing code. The best operating system for learning to code is the operating system you are using. The only certain thing Linux is the best operating system for is learning Linux. Learning Linux is not learning to code. It is not a step on the…

I disagree with this comment because, while everything said is technically true, it ignores the fact that it's a big trade-off. Going with "the operating system you are using" does optimise quite a few things; these are the "pros" of this approach, things like: - not burdening yourself with the learning curve of a new OS at the same time as you undergo the learning curve of programming - being able to ease the progra…

A beginner, by virtue of being a beginner, does not have the experience to evaluate the tradeoffs as applied to their unique circumstances. On the other hand, sticking with the goal of learning to program is going to mean overcoming a mountain of technical issues no matter what. Overcoming technical issues and persevering through difficult problems is the heart of programming.

Re: Ask HN: Why use Linux for coding?

#33

Post by bitwize »

Because Windows is now an OS-as-a-service, except running on your own damn computer. Meaning you ultimately don't control the OS, or your computer. As an open-source kernel and OS stack, Linux gives you that control back.

Ceding some control for putative convenience might -- MIGHT -- have been justifiable in the 90s. But it's 2018, Linux graphical shells are on fleek (if that's your thing), and your only excuse is if there's some app you NEED which requires Windows and doesn't work with Wine. Which isn't a problem for developers, except on a few proprietary platforms (like iOS).

Defaulting to Linux as you learn to develop software will build the skills you'll need to remediate the "software to do X is not available on Linux" problem should you come across it.

Re: Ask HN: Why use Linux for coding?

#34

Post by acqq »

mtmail wrote: post #4

(duplicate of https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16384949 from an hour ago) Linux and starting to learn programming: if your goal is to learn programming (python) then the operating system doesn't matter. I'd concentrate on popular Python libraries. Switching from Windows to Linux will only grow the number of unknown systems/pieces to feel uncomfortable with and add distraction. It's fun to learn, just separate fro…

Yes, looking at all the submissions, they appear to me to be generated by somebody who tries to game the HN:

https://news.ycombinator.com/submitted?id=pyeu

Re: Ask HN: Why use Linux for coding?

#36

Post by mattbrewsbytes »

For learning how to code, you are perfectly fine on Windows. You are going to read lots of technical arguments in here about why you should use Linux or a Mac. You are learning how to program, so once you progress outside of an editor and compiler and want to learn more about a certain specialty you may want to investigate things related to that specialty.

The reason Linux is used a lot is that a lot of software development is writing web applications which typically run on Linux on servers. You can explore Linux on your Windows machine using tools like VirtualBox to create a virtual machine running Linux. You don't need to dual-boot, reformat your system, or spend any money to learn it.

What flavor of Linux should you learn? It doesn't matter for just starting out. You could post a question and get lots of technical arguments about one vs the other.

For a lot of technical topics, the same concept applies - you are in a learning phase, pick a common one (programming language, operating system, etc.) and learn using that. Once you reach a comfort level and feel confident you can "get things done", investigate differences between what you learned and other options out there.

Re: Ask HN: Why use Linux for coding?

#38

Post by vmishra »

Reading this on Mint Linux machine. I had used Windows and Mac almost all my life up until I joined a startup about 2 years back when I was given a 16gb 128 SSD Dell laptop with Mint 18 on it. TBH I was not very excited initially But fast forward 2 years I can now say with a fair degree of confidence that there is no going back for me ever. One can possibly do everything and only better and faster on a Linux like Mint running on good hardware. I can only say this to fellow developers if your job is to write code or scripts or automation on a day to day basis Linux is the place to be. You'll get better every day, effortlessly. I reboot my machine every once in a few months and it has never ever crashed on me, It hanged once I plugged a specific projector one time but I could recover it without full reboot, and to put things in perspective I install and uninstall pretty crazy stuff on almost on a daily basis and it wakes up from hibernation in just about 5-8 seconds.

Re: Ask HN: Why use Linux for coding?

#39

Post by bjourne »

planteen wrote: post #31
bjourne wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I know you can use cl.exe directly, but it is not the same. For example, you can't even suppress its output completely. https://social.msdn.microsoft.com/Forums/vstudio/en-US/9eabe...

As much as I dislike MSVC, I'm still not sure that's a fair comparison. I've used cl.exe in large, complex makefiles to build programs that could also change CC and CXX to gcc or clang. And as far as output suppression goes, couldn't you pipe it somewhere else? I've had to do the same trick on Linux utils (pipe to /dev/null).

For fucks sake! OP asked and I gave him some FREE advice. He doesn't give a shit about the output of cl.exe (it was just an example...) so what's the point of these annoying nitpicks? It makes me want to stop commenting. For the record, NO you can't pipe it somewhere else: https://stackoverflow.com/questions/1453767/prevent-cl-exe-f...

Re: Ask HN: Why use Linux for coding?

#40

Post by neilsimp1 »

I'm going to play devil's advocate and say that a lot of the things people are saying on here as pros for Linux are capable on Windows with the Windows Subsystem for Linux. At least most of what a beginner would use, anyways.

But to actually answer your question, one of the things I like about developing on Linux is deploying onto a Linux server is a lot easier.

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