Windows or linux for development

Originally published on my blogging site ajeet.dev

Disclaimer:
I am new to the blogging world. This is my first post at Dev.to platform.
Please feel free to suggest how can I improve my tech blogging skills.

At Dev.to, I aim to share my tech-learning, and my writings will be dedicated to the absolute beginners who are new to the tech world. I don’t have a Tech degree, but always wanted to get into tech domain. I started teaching myself, I learnt Excel and mySQL by myself, then data visualization software Tableau.

This post will help the newbies choose the right OS to start their journey in programming or web dev. Let’s start.

In this article, I will quickly compare some key features of both the Linux and Windows Operating Systems. We will see the advantages of Linux over Windows, which will help you choose the right OS for programming or web development purposes.

I am a big fan of Windows OS, and have been using it for years. It is super user-friendly, well-designed, and convenient. However, if you are thinking of getting into programming or web development, a Linux distro (such as Ubuntu, CentOS, and Debian) is the best Operating System to start with.

Since this article is mostly focused on using a Linux distro, I will share with you lots of free learning resources related to Linux. This will help newbie coders to get comfortable with a Linux distro.

Linux is a kind-of-descendent of Unix, which means it is similar to other Unix-based system.

Linux Vs Windows ⚔️ Feature Comparison

Let’s compare the features of Linux and Windows Os.

🧡 Open Source

Unlike Windows OS which is commercial, Linux is an open source software that is freely available to download. There are hundreds of Linux distributions available out of which almost five-hundred distro are in active development. One of the most popular desktop Linux distributions is Ubuntu. I am currently using it. 

🛡️ Secure

Linux is considered to be more secure than Windows. No antivirus is needed. Since it is open source, several developers are working on it and everyone can contribute code. It is likely that someone will find a vulnerability long before hackers can target a Linux distro. 

🚀 Faster Software Updates

You will get faster software updates. If the bugs are found by someone, the users get updates immediately, they don’t have to wait for long. Development tools and libraries are available for free. 

⚡ Performance

Linux is more powerful and versatile than Windows. It is light-weight, which makes Linux faster than Windows. You will notice a significant improvement in speed on a Linux distro when you start working on this OS.

👨‍💻 Programming Friendly

As I said in the beginning of this article, a Linux distro is the best OS for a budding programmer to start with. Developers ❤ Linux. Let’s see some key features of Linux

1. Linux supports almost all of the programming languages such as Clojure, Python, Julia, Ruby, C, and C++ to name a few.
2. The Linux terminal is better than Window’s command line. If you want to learn command line basics quick and super fast, you will find this course helpful. Here is a comprehensive guide to learn Linux command line for beginners. You can also use this guide to learn command line for iOS and Linux.
3. Bash scripting — Bash is extremely useful for developers and it is available by default on Linux. Learn how to create and use bash scripts. Here is a cheat sheet on bash scripting.
4. Linux has inbuilt support for SSH. With this, you can easily manage your servers. Learn how to use SSH using this DigitalOcean guide.
5. You can easily customize and personalize your Linux distribution.
6. It also supports several efficient tools for developers that makes the life of developers a lot easier.

💯 Great Community Support

Since hundreds of Linux distros are in active development and they are open source, the community is big. All newcomers can find help on any of the Linux forums. If you are stuck somewhere in your development process or need help in your coding process, just Google it. You can find several Linux based helpful resources.

⏳ How to install and use a Linux distro

There are many ways to install and use. A few ways to install Ubuntu (a popular Linux distro) are mentioned below:

1. You can download Ubuntu and freshly install on your system. Also, google it and you will find several free resources on how to install this OS.
2. Install Ubuntu alongside Windows 10 dual boot
3. Install Ubuntu on Windows 10 using Virtualbox

🤔 Downside of using Linux (for the absolute beginners)

Is there really a problem switching to Linux ? I think, yes but for the absolute beginners, and it should be considered on a case-by-case basis. While there is absolutely no downside of switching to Linux, some absolute beginners might find Linux a bit uncomfortable while using it. 

Image Credit: https://bit.ly/2qpYluK

Consider a case where your computer is only running Linux (using installation approach 1 and 2 mentioned above). You have been using Windows since the beginning. You have never used a Linux distro before (similar to my case). Here are a few problems I had faced.

1. A computer with only a Linux distro installed means newbies might end up googling several commands to do simple tasks. Even you are not familiar with Start Menu. The same task could have done with a few clicks of buttons in Windows.
2. Running Microsoft products (such as Excel, Word, and PowerPoint) in Linux is not an easy task. That was a big disappointment to me. I was an Excel-person, and even now I use it everyday. Though you can use open source alternatives to Excel, but they are not advanced and mature enough. 
3. I am a big fan of Tableau — a data visualisation software, and I use it create charts and running some quick analysis. The problem is Tableau Desktop is not available for Linux, but only for Windows and Mac.

The problem could be fixed by using installation approach 3 (install Ubuntu on Windows 10 using Virtualbox). You can use Windows and Linux side by side. However, the biggest problem with this approach is the performance of the Linux machines inside Windows. Virtual Machines take a lot of resources and you will have a disconnected experience when using VMs with Windows.

If you have good amount of RAM, video graphics and a good processor, you can optimize the Linux machine. However, that might be costly, time taking and overwhelming for newbies. So, what now.

💡 What’s Next

One of the best solutions of the problem I explained in the previous section is to use Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL). I have written a step by step guide on WSL on my blogging site ajeet.dev
Part 1: How to Install Windows Subsystem for Linux
Part 2: A Beginner’s Guide to Use Windows Subsystem For Linux

Do read it. Thank you for your time. Feedback welcome

Edited on 25 Jan 2020: Based on several comments and a little research, I find this sentence «While there is absolutely no downside of switching to Linux..» too extreme. That’s why the strikethrough

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Credits 🙏:
*Image Credit: ManyPixels
*Image Edit with BlogCover
*Windows and Linux logos taken from SimpleIcons
*Emojis taken from Emojipedia

Нету никаких проблем.
Если только ваше конкретное используемое для ваших задач ПО нормально работает с Windows.

Например, в моем случае используется Ansible и Docker, который не поддерживается на Windows. Приходится использовать Vagrant. Это достаточно удобно. Но ресурсы все же кушает.

А так — даже Vim хорошо себя чуствует на Windows. Нативный. Не cygwin.

Microsoft это тоже понимает.
И вот уже они встроили подсистему Linux Ubuntu в Windows 10. Это не виртуализация, а именно полноценная подсистема.

И многие вещи, например, те же шрифты — в Windows работают лучше, чем под Linux.

Могут сказать — что лучше использовать для разработки ту же среду что и для production.

Но дело в том, что даже если вы сидите на Ubuntu Desktop, то ваша среда серьезно отличается от среды сервера FreeBSD, CentOS, Debian, Ubutntu Server. И для полноценного CI все равно умные дядьки категорически рекомендуют и на Linux даже использовать Docker для полноценной эмуляции.

Но ведь Docker-то можно использовать и на Windows. Правда, запускается он там подольше.

Где именно вести разработку, где вам удобнее — это ваше личное дело. Вопрос ваших предпочтений. Никаких объективных причин в наше время, когда существуют Docker, Vagrant и виртуальные машины, когда куча приложений изначально сделанных для *nix запускаются в native под Windows — нет никаких причин себя строить. Кроме любопытства — а как оно там на других системах живется.

У тех кто вас троллит есть еще одна причина: им приятно показать себя более умными. Как же — ведь Linux можно сконфигурить руками.

Ага, конечно.

Или используют готовые десктопные дистрибутивы. Не зря Ubuntu так популярна.
Или если освоили ArchLinux — то построили себе совершенно убогое окружение по готовым мануалам.

Чтобы действительно набрать скиллы ручной настройки Linux — нужно огромное количество упроства и времени, чем ваши друзья, которые вас троллят, вряд ли обладают.

На деле 99% твердящих о гибкости Linux — далее чем ставить Apache и MySQL из пакетов — ничего сами и не умеют. Фактически работая в то же настроенной другими людьми десктопной среде. Но разве вы не умеете делать то же самое под Windows?

Другое дело, что разворачивать и тестировать нужно под аутентичным операционным окружением.
Неважно под Ubuntu ты сидишь или под Windows.

Лучшие практики советуют использовать полностью изолированный и независимый от рабочего места разработчика инструментарий — виртуальные машины, Vagrant, Docker, отдельные физические сервера.

В этом случае под твоей любимой ОС работает только текстовый да графический редактор. А все развертывание для тестирования и для продакшн проводится в совсем другой среде.

Используя Docker хоть под Windows ты будешь получать даже больше преимущество повторяемости рабочей среды чем тем кругом, кто советуют тебе просто перейти на Linux. Если на более слабом железе это и было бы существенно (Docker под Linux стартует быстрее), то на твоем — несущественно на чем работать.

Home / Handy Tips / Linux Vs. Windows

Linux offers developers efficient and reliable operation, making it an excellent choice for developing web applications. It is a stable platform that is quite capable of handling high levels of traffic, which is especially convenient in the current world of digital development. Furthermore, Linux’s open-source nature makes it possible to find specialized solutions to almost any coding query, giving more control over the project’s customization and settings. But this is only one side of the issue, as Windows for developers also has many useful features. In this article, we compare operating systems in terms of benefits for developers.

source: skillrary.com

Linux vs Windows for Software Development

To understand on which platform it is better to provide FinTech development services, you need to understand the main differences between Linux and Windows. Whether you’re looking for an in-house specialist or hiring an outsourced developer, you’ll benefit from learning more about not only the platform, but also many other nuances. Now, however, we’ll talk about the positives and negatives of operating systems.

Secure

Security is an important factor when it comes to choosing an operating system, especially in the digital world that we live in today. Linux has been found to provide a higher level of security than many other operating systems, such as Windows. What makes Linux special is the fact that it is open-source, meaning the source code and development process are not hidden away from the public eye. This means that any identified vulnerabilities can be quickly addressed by volunteers and security researchers who are actively working on fixing them, long before any hackers have a chance to exploit them. Moreover, antivirus software is usually unnecessary when using Linux since it can easily detect any malicious elements on its own. All this makes Linux a secure choice.

Performance

Linux is gaining popularity in the performance arena due to its superior speed advantages. It is not only lightweight but also optimized for today’s modern hardware which ensures faster operations than Windows OS. Whether you need to browse through gigabytes of data or run complex data-driven applications, Linux is much better equipped and tuned to offer improved performance over Windows. The faster boot times and lower system resource consumption make Linux a great choice when looking to optimize result delivery time while reducing costs and increasing security. With more developers allocating resources toward strengthening, updating, and improving Linux, it seems like the obvious winner when it comes to performance.

Open Source

Open-source software like Linux has revolutionized the way people interact with technology. Rather than being tied to one license, any user can access and modify the source code for their own use or for contributing to the development of new applications. With a wide selection of free Linux distributions available, users from beginners to experienced developers can easily find an option that meets their needs. From a personal standpoint, I have been using Ubuntu as my preferred OS since its release and have never looked back. The versatile nature of Linux gives me the freedom to customize my settings and explore new technologies. I have found open-source software to be reliable, secure, and system-friendly.

Software Updates

Faster software updates are invaluable for users as it allows them to stay ahead of the curve when it comes to technology. Furthermore, this allows users to instantly resolve any bugs or issues found in the software without having to wait for patches or updates, increasing their productivity and convenience significantly. As a bonus, many software development tools and libraries have also become available for free, allowing developers access to the most up-to-date technologies on the market. In this regard, Linux succeeds over Windows.

Community Support

The Linux community has proven itself to be one of the strongest and most reliable sources of assistance for software developers. A large number of networks, forums, and websites dedicated to helping developers tackle their coding conundrums is evidence of its power. Furthermore, with hundreds of different Linux distributions available for open-source development, newcomers can take advantage of well-established communities full of experienced users that are willing to help others new to the field. So when you’re stuck on a coding problem or simply require some guidance, just type it into Google engine and explore the wide array of resources available in the Linux arena.

source: rincondelatecnologia.com

Useful features of Linux for a programmer

Those who want to hire a development team or simply join a team should prepare to learn Linux. In addition to the previously listed positive features of the operating system, it also has other advantages for FinTech developers.

• It supports almost any language, including industry standards like Clojure, Python, Julia, Ruby, C, and C++.
• The Linux terminal is also far more powerful than the Windows command line, making it easier to quickly learn the basics that are essential for modern development. To make things simpler, a comprehensive guide to the Linux command line can be found for both beginners and experienced users alike.
• Bash scripting is also available on Linux by default and is a very useful tool for developers.
• With inbuilt SSH support, managing servers remotely becomes a breeze. All of this can easily be done by following a quick Digital Ocean guide on how to use SSH.
• Linux stands out from other systems as it can be customized and personalized to fit your individual needs – so you will always feel at home when coding in this environment.