quote:Original post by Tracy but from what I understand it''s a prompt driven OS (sort of like DOS).
http://www.kde.org/screenshots/kde2shots.html Yes, the console is extremely important in the Linux world, but it''s quite possible to use Linux without touching a console. Some distributions (such as Mandrake) will automatically configure your system to start a graphical environment on boot.
Of course, the console is an extremely useful tool, and in many ways, it''s much more powerful than a GUI could ever be
ReactOS - an Open-source operating system compatible with Windows NT apps and drivers
XWindows is the Graphic interface for Linux, it doesnt has to be command prompt driven unless you want it to be, dont think of it as something like 16 bit DOS, because it is not, although if I had to give you an idea of how it works, I would have to say it is like when you had to boot in DOS and run Windows with WIN, of course there are methods (XDM) so you can start in graphics mode right away.
try too look for Linux desktop screenshots, I remember that after being so used to the Windows Look and feel I was impresed seeing those.
I''m still debating whether I should devote the majority of my time learning to develop for windows or Linux. The realistic part of me says that Windows is the more profitable venture and will make me more marketable, but the more curious and pioneering side of me wants to learn Linux.
What little I do know about Linux programming seems very interesting. What I find most interesting is how open things are. I think I could learn more quickly with Linux despite its (seemingly) higher complexity because source code is so readily available. IT lets me see the nuts and bolts of how real programming works. So even though Windows stuff seems more enscapsulated (no need to worry about X windows, file managers, and wondering if your audience has all the dependencies), Linux just seems like the tinkerers paradise.
However, Linux has another nasty downfall. Namely that I see Windows outperforming it graphically come DirectX9. And going along with that, in Windows programming, all it seems you really need to know is the DirectX API and some Win32 stuff. With Linux, you have to know the Linux kernel, SDL, OpenGL (and or Mesa), X windows, and potentially GUI toolkits/Desktop stuff like GTK gnome or Kde/Qt. That''s what I mean by the learning curve.
So for a beginner like me, what would people recommend I learn first? If I study windows/directX programming first, will it make the transition to Linux easier? Or would it be the other way around, and should I study Linux first and then move on to Windows?
The world has achieved brilliance without wisdom, power without conscience. Ours is a world of nuclear giants and ethical infants. We know more about war than we know about peace, more about killing than we know about living. We have grasped the mystery of the atom and rejected the Sermon on the Mount." - General Omar Bradley
Until linux can woo manufacturers into developing drivers for video cards, printers, lah di dah, linux will go nowhere. I agree, its a great platform, and could be the best in terms of a development platform, but, they need to get some support. I''ll agree its grown in popularity, and some manufacturers are developing drivers now, but its still pretty weak. Second problem, standard user interface.....Fix those two major situations, and linux will grow much faster.
if you are confident enought, learn both, some people put it as "if I learn WinApi, I will never learn GTK+" as if they were both so hard to learn that only one fits in your head, as it comes up, its not really all that different, if you know standard C/C++, you already know how to program in both Windows and Linux, its just a matter of getting used to the tools available to you on eighter platform, I code in/for both, I learned WinApi first, cos Windows was what was available to me at the time, but learning different Linux API''s its not as hard as it might seem (my first Linux program was a FLTK app, and I found it to be a lot easier than WIN32_LEAN_AND_MEAN).
Of course you will be more likelly to find a job sooner if you know Windows, but if its a 70%/30% chance, wouldnt you want to learn both, and have a 100% chance?
quote:Original post by Famine Two words: DRIVER SUPPORT
Actually, there''s a whole bunch more words. Standard directories. Standard definitions of dependencies (which versions of which libraries link against which other versions of which other libraries). Defined installation procedures. Improved user interface (if Linux ever wants to go mainstream).
There''s also the fact that commerce and Linux haven''t gone too well together - from the succession of cutbacks and closures of Linux companies (most notably VA''s hardware operations) to Linux users'' lack of support for commercial Linux software (note the dismal sales of the boxed Linux Quake3/Arena). Put your moeny where your mouth is, Linux faithful.
Well you guys seem to enjoy smashing linux.. feel good?
I was not saying linux should replace windows, nor its superiority. But when you can design games that work on both platforms, and for free no less, I figured I would help pass along the world. Thats all. I didn''t say linux owns the desktop or has superior driver support. It doesn''t. But in many cases, such as mine, it has proven to be a very productive environment for my development. Thought I would share, thats all
I don''t think anybody was smashing Linux. People simply aired their views on the pros and cons of Linux development. Don''t be so overprotective; the Linux community bashes Windows all the time... what goes around, comes around.
your arguments are pretty bogus. gcc (that free compiler you love for linux) runs on windows. borland has a free compiler too. for your image editing, you got paint (just as good a bitmap editor as any other). Gimp runs on windows too (and is still free). most of your cool imaging effects will most likely be done by your own tools anyway (building alpha maps and such). For 3d modeling, blender runs on windows too.
all these free tools run on windows too, so the only thing you have to pay for is the OS.
quote:Original post by chiuyan Your arguments are pretty bogus... All these free tools run on Windows too, so the only thing you have to pay for is the OS.
How does that make his ''arguments'' bogus? He even points out that most of those programs run in Windows. His ideas still can potentially save money. Saving money is the point, isn''t it? Why are you trying to ''disprove'' his tips for saving money?
