What makes Linux OS so good?

[Hayleia]

Please explain, what makes Linux better for coding?

If you're working on a "big" project, it's not necessarily better. On Linux and Windows and emacs, you have good IDEs that take care of everything for you and provide everything you never wanted and stuff.
But several times already I wanted to do a very small thing just for 5 minutes, and it's awesome to have vim and valgrind available in a terminal so it actually lasts 5 minutes to start editing a file, finish editing, compile, test and hunt and fix memory leaks and finish the small project.

 

[jurassicplayer]

Please explain, what makes Linux better for coding?

Iunno if it's "better" for coding or not, but it certainly is a shit ton easier to make a working environment than in Windows a fair amount of the time. Normally if I want to try and code something or compile something it's more of just install needed reqs and build. I don't have to think about paths or wait an abysmally long time to install Visual Studio to have it sit there taking up GBs worth of space when I just want to compile a small program I find online.

Just in general, it feels more convenient to do most of that sort of thing on linux. I don't have any sort of specifics, it's just how it ended up being for me.

 

[TVL]

Many reasons, but I will highlight one below.

Embedded systems, so it's the best for a very tiny percentage of programmers then..?

If you're working on a "big" project, it's not necessarily better. On Linux and Windows and emacs, you have good IDEs that take care of everything for you and provide everything you never wanted and stuff.
But several times already I wanted to do a very small thing just for 5 minutes, and it's awesome to have vim and valgrind available in a terminal so it actually lasts 5 minutes to start editing a file, finish editing, compile, test and hunt and fix memory leaks and finish the small project.

I'm pretty sure those are available on Windows too.

Iunno if it's "better" for coding or not, but it certainly is a shit ton easier to make a working environment than in Windows a fair amount of the time. Normally if I want to try and code something or compile something it's more of just install needed reqs and build. I don't have to think about paths or wait an abysmally long time to install Visual Studio to have it sit there taking up GBs worth of space when I just want to compile a small program I find online.

Just in general, it feels more convenient to do most of that sort of thing on linux. I don't have any sort of specifics, it's just how it ended up being for me.

You're only doing those things once though. But I get if you prefer it in Linux.

 

[sarkwalvein]

Embedded systems, so it's the best for a very tiny percentage of programmers then..?

I think it is best for programmers, yes, but not for a very tiny percentage.
It goes very well with embedded systems, but also with servers, and I think if you work in a big software project for a company you will have a setup where a lot of data keeping, computing, and providing actual services is done in Linux based machines, while the client side of your software is done in multiple platforms (mostly Windows) because people are more used to them.
It is used plenty as I've stated before in the server side of big systems, be it for providing an actual service, for databases, for providing calculation capabilities, etc. Imagine the big real program is running in the servers (often Linux), while the client part (often Windows based) the user uses is just a big graphical interface with whistles that interacts with it.

 

[Hayleia]

I'm pretty sure those are available on Windows too.

You didn't try to google "valgrind windows" then.

 

[TVL]

I think it is best for programmers, yes, but not for a very tiny percentage.
It goes very well with embedded systems, but also with servers, and I think if you work in a big software project for a company you will have a setup where a lot of data keeping, computing, and providing actual services is done in Linux based machines, while the client side of your software is done in multiple platforms (mostly Windows) because people are more used to them.
It is used plenty as I've stated before in the server side of big systems, be it for providing an actual service, for databases, for providing calculation capabilities, etc. Imagine the big real program is running in the servers (often Linux), while the client part (often Windows based) the user uses is just a big graphical interface with whistles that interacts with it.

Ok, now we are up to "best for some programmers". And it's probably not worse, unless perhaps if you're coding C# or VB?

You didn't try to google "valgrind windows" then.

I did not. But googling that lead me to Windows alternatives of the whole tool suit (not having used any of them I can't say they are as good though). I still think you can do those things and have compiled code running in 5 min on any OS.

 

[Jayro]

The only good thing is open source and customizability.

However, it's just a niche product hence practically nobody but nerds using it but people on this site praise it as the best thing ever to stare at 5 terminals and error logs at once with cryptic output when you try to do any kind of work on the system with buggy open source terminal-only software because nobody is getting paid to do any fixing or aesthetics since "it's not needed" when you can just work with the terminal, find the bugs yourself and re-compile in case you ran into problems or don't like something. Sadly, nobody has the time to do this if you're trying to do some "real" work instead of ripping your hair out.

If I could program GUIs for the terminal-only apps that don't have them, I would. Nothing bugs me more than an app with no GUI.

 

[nIxx]

You can build your Linux yourself with the stuff you really want/need.
As anything it does have advantages and disadvantages.
But lets be honest here if there wasnt a Desktop enviroment where you can just click anything (like in Windows) many people wouldnt even use it

 

[sarkwalvein]

Ok, now we are up to "best for some programmers". And it's probably not worse, unless perhaps if you're coding C# or VB?

Well, not sure about that.
Though you can perfectly program and develop C# and VB on Linux, even with official Microsoft support through Mono/Xamarin and Visual Studio Code, I don't normally develop in C#.
The biggest part of my daily work is done in C++, with some Python and Java here and there, that is what I end up dealing with at work anyway.
I can't tell much more about other usages of computers, I mostly use them for work (Windows, Linux) or at home for daily activities, browsing internet, movies, music, and more programming (macOS in this case). I don't play games in computers (except some indies) and I don't use them for much else lately because I am a bit tired of them (burnout) to be honest, it wasn't like that when I was younger.
I can completely understand though, if you wanted to use your computer for gaming Windows is a much better option than any of the other OSes.

To be completely honest, nonetheless, regarding the "programming" use case I find Unix based environments (Linux and macOS) way more comfortable for programming, version control, management of projects, etc. That is from my experience.

PS: And regarding the "now we are up to...", take a look at my position and my previous posts on this thread, I've stated every OS has pros and contras and a field of application where they work better, I think you should go with one according the field of application you are up to, and I think this should be in any case discussed rationally. I hate the fanboyism displayed by some users before in this thread, because they can't be objective and talk about things without resorting to emotion and hooligan-like screaming.

 

[JerwuQu]

Windows: If you need to run games or software created by companies that mostly focus on Windows. Blizzard games, Sony Vegas and FL Studio are some examples. It just works without hassle for most tasks.

Linux: If you want your PC to actually be a personal computer. You can change pretty much anything to your own liking. Has a pretty steep learning-curve for beginners so not at all recommended for casual users. Things don't always work like they should and require some tinkering before optimal, but some see this as enjoyable.

OS X: Maybe you have an iPhone or something? I don't know. The simplest but also the most restrictive out of the three. Seems like it's mostly used by people stuck in the Apple ecosystem. People that use it seem to like it, people that don't use it seem to hate it.


None of them are perfect. I myself use both Windows 10 on my Desktop and Debian Sid on my laptop and I like both of them for their own uses, I even have VMs set up for each of them (Linux VM on Windows and Windows VM on Linux) for tasks that are easier in the other OS.

If you're a Windows user interested in Linux, try it on a laptop or in a virtual machine. Switching from Windows on your main computer is probably not worth it if you use any Windows-exclusive applications.

These debates are like arguing which flavor of ice cream is the best, it's very personal. Just try to have an open mind and decide what's best for you.

 

[Luglige]

The point is, if you're too dumb to realize, most games people use to play on Windows, aren't available on your shitty open-source operating system. Like I only have 49 games out of 167 games in my library and all of them are either shovelware or crapware and only some good ones are playable on "wonux".

Most of games I play, aren't even available on Linux. Like some F2P games.

idk why people think that open source is a bad thing. Get a better point.

Okay, I guess I shouldn't laugh: I'm a tech support guy myself, and the first job interview with what would end up being my job was with some friendly lady who had never heard of linux (and considering she did job interviews for IT profiles, I thought this was rather cynical: the chances of getting a job were more likely if you dressed and talked well rather than having technological knowledge ).

Yeah, I'm too young to get a job in a tech support, but I guess thats why tech support is so bad.

 

[sarkwalvein]

idk why people think that open source is a bad thing. Get a better point.

I suppose Unreal Engine 4 must be a piece of shit and nobody would use it for developing any serious game. It is open source after all.

 

[Elizabethx90]

Linux is not an OS, but a kernel. An OS is comprised of different software which make for a usable environment.

On-topic, I primarily use linux. The only thing I don't do is play League of Legends and Dark Souls, and that's the only use for Windows that I have. I do audio/video/image editing on linux. I do coding on linux. I can watch movies, play a ton of games that I enjoy, such as Dota, Binding of Isaac, Payday 2, Civ series, Saint's Row, Borderlands, etc. In my opinion, the best part about linux is the ability to choose and modify my desktop environment however I please instead of being stuck with something such as Explorer/DWM on Windows.

 

[Luglige]

I suppose Unreal Engine 4 must be a piece of shit and nobody would use it for developing any serious game. It is open source after all.

idk if that is sarcasm lol.

 

[Pacheko17]

The only good thing is open source and customizability.

However, it's just a niche product hence practically nobody but nerds using it but people on this site praise it as the best thing ever to stare at 5 terminals and error logs at once with cryptic output when you try to do any kind of work on the system with buggy open source terminal-only software because nobody is getting paid to do any fixing or aesthetics since "it's not needed" when you can just work with the terminal, find the bugs yourself and re-compile in case you ran into problems or don't like something. Sadly, nobody has the time to do this if you're trying to do some "real" work instead of ripping your hair out.

Pretty sure my dad isn't a nerd.
We've been using Linux for a long long time, never had to stare at terminals and error logs.
Well, I stare at terminals but that's because I want to, you don't have to at all.
Keep being ignorant all you want.

Linux isn't perfect, it isn't the best thing in the world, but in my opinion it's better than all the other options, you can do so much with it, you can make it perfect for you.
Windows and especially Mac give you no freedom at all.

 

[tech3475]

For me, it's best feature is that it's free and available in versions that offer a good ootb experience.

After that, it gets mixed.

Linux can be good for more 'advanced' stuff but it can also be a PITA.

When I needed to run some sample code, it failed on Mint but ran fine in Cent OS.

 

[AmandaRose]

This whole thread has descended into being a farce it's like being back in school in the early 90s

oh nintendo are better than Sega
No they are not Sega has loads of Arcade games

Arcade games are shit where are all the great rpg games like Final Fantasy

Fuck final Fantasy we have Phantasy Star which is much better

Yep but we have mode 7

But we have Mega CD (Sega CD for our American friends lol)

But we have mario

But we have Sonic

My dick is bigger than yours

Well your mum wasn't complaining about my dick last night.

Fucking playground bullshit dosen't exist on this site nobody is right or wrong in what is the best operating system its all down to personal choice. Whatever one best suits your need is the best one for you they all have their benefits and cons.

Now can you all stop acting like 10 year old kids please.

 

[Luglige]

This whole thread has descended into being a farce it's like being back in school in the early 90s

oh nintendo are better than Sega
No they are not Sega has loads of Arcade games

Arcade games are shit where are all the great rpg games like Final Fantasy

Fuck final Fantasy we have Phantasy Star which is much better

Yep but we have mode 7

But we have Mega CD (Sega CD for our American friends lol)

But we have mario

But we have Sonic

My dick is bigger than yours

Well your mum wasn't complaining about my dick last night.

Fucking playground bullshit dosen't exist on this site nobody is right or wrong in what is the best operating system its all down to personal choice. Whatever one best suits your need is the best one for you they all have their benefits and cons.

Now can you all stop acting like 10 year old kids please.

PREACH!!!

 

[Elizabethx90]

-Snipped-

While I agree that this post is mainly a shitfest, the OP did ask a legitimate question, and there are posts that are on-topic, such as my previous one.

 

[Luglige]

While I agree that this post is mainly a shitfest, the OP did ask a legitimate question, and there are posts that are on-topic, such as my previous one.

I try my best, but the ignorance on the topic is too strong, I hope my video did help OP.