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Is there a best OS for programming?

TomX · 2004-09-23T05:02:50

Hi, Well I'm planning to buy a computer, as I mentioned in a previous post. The problem I got now is deciding which OS is best for programming, I'm inclined to decide on a Windows platform, as it's combatible with VB, although I use Java mainly. What OS is best for Java development, or doesn't it matter? Thanks in Advance TomX [Edited by - TomX on September 21, 2004 2:28:05 PM]

General and Gameplay Programming Programming

Started by TomX September 21, 2004 01:59 PM

36 comments, last by PurpleAmethyst 19 years, 7 months ago

Spoonbender

1,258

September 21, 2004 02:53 PM

Quote:Original post by pkelly83
Quote:Original post by TomX
Thanks, what advantages does Linux have over Windows in relation to programming?

Better Editors and more techie oriented environment. Harder to crash it too if you do something dumb by mistake. That goes for any UNIX not just Linux

Hah, I'm not so sure about that. True, the Linux kernel might be near uncrashable, but an awful lot of Linux apps are very sloppy coded, and will crash as soon as you look at them... :)

And to be fair, it's damn hard to crash Windows XP as well.

I'm not saying Windows is better, just saying that crashes aren't impossible when using Linux. Personally I prefer to work in Linux, but I use Windows the rest of the time.

For Java, it really doesn't matter. You can get some good IDE's for both (My favorite, Eclipse, is available on both platforms)

But the main thing is which OS you feel comfortable with. :)
Of course, like Sr_Guapo suggested, dualboot is a nice solution too... No point in using only one OS... (I had 4 at last count)

Ravyne

14,306

September 21, 2004 02:55 PM

Dual boot. Its not that hard. When you install windows, set aside a 10gig partition for Linux/unix/BSD/whatever. 10gigs is more than enough to experiment with networking and programming.

Linux is not an everyday environment for most people, despite how many linux zealots will tell you otherwise. I've had redhat on my system for a few years now and I rarely have cause to boot into it.

MSs development tools are tightly integrated with Visual Studio which is hands down the best IDE available on any platform(again, dispite what linux zealots will tell you,) the only thing that comes close, IMHO, is Apple's XCode for Mac.

Solely running linux doesn't make much sense unless its a secondary PC perhaps. If you want to play games, you need windows, if you want to be sure that your new hardware is supported, you need windows, if you want to enjoy and draw inspiration from other indy developers on gamedev, you'll need windows(for the most part), I could go on and on and on.

throw table_exception("(? ???)? ? ???");

TomX

264

Author

September 21, 2004 03:12 PM

Thanks for all your advice again.

Hmm, dual-booting... sounds viable, I could install WinXP, download all the required things on WinXP and use it for internet then have Linux too just incase I wanted to experiment. Does anyone know much about the general combatibility of hardware with Suse 9.1?

Thanks in Advance
TomX

clayasaurus

139

September 21, 2004 03:54 PM

Quote:Original post by TomX
Thanks, what advantages does Linux have over Windows in relation to programming?

*linux comes with everything you need and more. windows doesn't.

*linux doesn't get viruses like windows does

*linux is free

Roboguy

794

September 21, 2004 04:10 PM

Quote:Original post by clayasaurus
*linux doesn't get viruses like windows does

I like linux, but it can get viruses, it's just there are less out there for linux.

btw: the first rootkits were made for unix

http://www.roboguy.net(WIP) - lisperati - SICP - Haskell - Python - OCaml - Lambda the Ultimate - Good Math, Bad Math - Wiki (not Wikipedia) - Pure - Term-Rewriting Functional Language

MaulingMonkey

1,729

September 21, 2004 04:27 PM

Quote:Original post by Roboguy
Quote:Original post by clayasaurus
*linux doesn't get viruses like windows does

I like linux, but it can get viruses, it's just there are less out there for linux.

btw: the first rootkits were made for unix

Of course unix had the first rootkits. Back in the day, windows had no root, or anything like root, to have a kit to become!!! (and linux didn't exist)

OP: If Windows is the only OS you know allready, I'd stick with it. That said, you probably wouldn't be asking this question if you knew linux.

Pros for linux:
easier to install libraries (for non M$ compilers anyways), cheaper.

Pros for windows:
more direct support for .NET and the CRL (or whatever it's called) for mixing languages (M$).

Guimo

463

September 21, 2004 04:44 PM

Please everyone, focus on the question. This is not the place for this dicussion.

TomX, do you want a development environment for Java?

a. Install your favorite OS, Java will make it impossible to crash it anyway. If you install XP, install SP2 to enhance your security.
b. Download the latest Java SDK from sun.
c. Download Netbeans from www.netbeans.org.

Once you understand Netbeans, its almost the best IDE for Java out there. The aoutoupdates are excellent.

Happy coding!

Guimo

smr

2,468

September 21, 2004 04:48 PM

To answer the question: No. There is no best OS for programming. If you're a linux newbie and want to get programming immediately, then I'd suggest that you stick to windows. If you know your way around the linux filesystem and are comfortable using gcc and okay with having a smaller target audience, then maybe linux is right for you. There's a TON of cool stuff out there for linux to tinker with.

doynax

850

September 21, 2004 04:48 PM

I just read the feature set of Valgrind and now I'm seriously considering switching over to Linux ;)

Quote:Helgrind is a thread debugger which finds data races in multithreaded programs

Where can I find a utility like this for windows?

smr

2,468

September 21, 2004 04:49 PM

Quote:Original post by Guimo
Please everyone, focus on the question. This is not the place for this dicussion.

TomX, do you want a development environment for Java?

a. Install your favorite OS, Java will make it impossible to crash it anyway. If you install XP, install SP2 to enhance your security.
b. Download the latest Java SDK from sun.
c. Download Netbeans from www.netbeans.org.

Once you understand Netbeans, its almost the best IDE for Java out there. The aoutoupdates are excellent.

Happy coding!

Guimo

Look into python too. Python is IMHO far more simple to learn and just as powerfull as java.

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