linux or not to linux?
Hi, i recently starting c programming and i was wondering which was better to programm in, windows or linux? i never used linux before, so, is it worth learning to use? and what are the advantages of linux over windows especially if am interested in running programs like mathematica and doing mathematical programming
http://www.wolfram.com/news/presslinux.html
Other maths packages like GMP are portable across many platforms.
> is it worth learning to use?
Quite probably.
If you dance barefoot on the broken glass of undefined behaviour, you've got to expect the occasional cut.
If at first you don't succeed, try writing your phone number on the exam paper.
After programming in Windows and Linux, I can honestly say Linux is a more practical programming environment.
It really depends what kind of programming you want to do - for me it's systems and applications. GCC is extremely flexible (I would recommend getting hold of it for Windows if you don't program for Linux) and suits me to the ground; linking an assembly routine into a C program for example, possible under Windows and Linux, but much more straight forwards under Linux in that you don't need to bugger about trying to find MASM (you need SP4/5 for VS6 IIRC) or mess around setting up custom build steps.
Assembly (used on it's own) becomes a more practical language in linux IMO, as, amongst other things, all interrupts are handled by the kernel and there isn't an excessive # of them, so no BS, it's just everything you need.
Good class architecture is not like a Swiss Army Knife; it should be more like a well balanced throwing knife.
- Mike McShaffry
