[ale] Ubuntu for developers?

[Michael B. Trausch]

David Corbin wrote:
>
> I'm very experienced Linux guy.  I've been using it for over 10 years using 
> various distributions.  Gentoo is my preference right now.  At my office, we 
> have a couple of linux-newbies that would like to get off Windows.  I really 
> don't want to recommend Gentoo to them, because at work, they need to focus 
> more on getting work done, and Gentoo does have some higher maintenance. I 
> know that I'm going to be their first and second level support for Linux 
> issues.
> 
> One of them asked about Ubuntu.  I know virtually nothing about this 
> distribution.  However, I've gotten the impression that it makes a lot 
> decisions for you.  Since these guys are developers, and we tend to need very 
> explicit versions of various tools, I've kind of steered them away from 
> Ubuntu.  Have a made a mistake?  Would this be a good distribution for them?  
> Will I be able to figure out how to help them easily configure stuff knowing 
> only general Linux stuff, and not Ubuntu in particular?
> 

Ubuntu is based on Debian, with some nice additions and (IMHO) better
software.  However, no package management system out there lends itself
to having "very explicit versions of various tools."  You may want to
lighten the requirements to be "tool version x.y.z or better"... just an
idea.  :-)

Ubuntu is not, in my experience, any harder to figure out than any other
Linux distribution.  Most of the Ubuntu-centric configuration is in its
use of the Debian apt system, and some of the things that it borrows
from Debian (which make a great deal of sense!).  For example, you can
have several versions of Java from several vendors, and use them all by
setting up the "alternatives" system to switch them when you need to use
a new one.  The same can be done with different versions of gcc, or any
other tool, really, which helps you to stray outside of the package
management system if you require an older or newer version of something
that they already have.

I support (right now) four machines running Ubuntu, and I wouldn't
choose any other system for any of them.  Two of them are newbies, and
the other two are experienced users of UNIX-like systems.  I wouldn't
use it (or Linux at all) on a server system (I use FreeBSD, there), but
I really like it in the desktop.

Just keep the system updated and enable whatever repositories you need
to get the software you want, and you're all good to go.

>
> Is there a better distribution to recommend to them?
> 

In my mind, no.  Ubuntu uses a solid package management system (which I
have yet to see dump on me, unlike RPM...), has many development tools,
and current (enough) software to keep me happy for the most part.  The
only three software packages that I am using on my system that aren't
part of the Ubuntu system are Firefox v2.0 (Available in Edgy), GAIM
v2.0 (Also available in Edgy), and Eclipse 3.2 (Ubuntu Dapper include
3.1, which isn't new enough for Python development with the PyDev
plugin).  All three were trivial to install.

	-- Mike

-- 
Michael B. Trausch <fd0man at gmail.com> - Jabber: fd0man at livejournal.com

Demand freedom: Use open and free protocols, standards, and software.

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