20 replies to this topic

[AdvMutant]

Welcome!
I wish you good luck on your way as a programmer. It's important to remember what we all are always here, and that we're always willing to help. So, just in case you're having trouble, don't give up. Ask us. Google it. Programming depends on trial and error a lot.

As about your question, it depends on many things. Some languages are specially designed for a specific platform, which leads us to a difficult question - what language are you using and why? What are you willing to develop? Or in other words, what's the reason you're into programming?
I faced that question not a long before, and I came up with a conclusion - development doesn't really depend on the OS, more on the software you using. I can't really recommend you anything as I'm still searching for my best IDE. In fact, I'm planning to make my own.

One more thing - What OS are you using now? Switching OSes can be a pain. Or even more important - what's your target OS? You should develop on the OS you're willing to release software to. For example, use Windows 7 if you want to release Windows software. In case you need more than just one OS, you can always use virtual machines.

Please be more specific. Yours, Mike.

[AdvMutant]

mhm, I see. You're using a Mac. I don't have much to say about that because I never used a Mac myself.
The only recommendation I can give you is either running a WinXP virtual machine, or dual-booting with with OS-X. C++ is a great choice, by the way. Once again, I never used Python, so I can't say much about it(but I did hear it's good).

[Alexander]

As for an operating system Linux distributions often provide "one command" installation of language compilers, often including them by default. There are many free IDEs and multiple compiler options for multiple platforms in Linux, with Windows you tend to require pre-made solutions or non open source software.

[AdvMutant]

I agree. Compiling software is a pain in Windows.

[DarkLordofthePenguins]

Definitely go with a *nix and not Windows. Mac OS X has native support for at least 15 programming languages, including C, C++, Perl, and Python among others. Linux supports all of these languages by default as well. Windows has PowerShell, and you can write DOS batch files, and that's about it.

----

Some suggestions for virtualization:

VMWare is the most commonly use VM, and it works on all common platforms, though I don't know how much it costs.

VMWare Fusion is a version of VMWare made especially for Macs.

VirtualBox is an open-source alternative to VMWare in case you're short on money or simply don't feel like paying.

Don't use Virtual PC. It only runs on Windows, and it only runs Windows, i.e. it only lets you run one version of Windows on top of another version of Windows. It's the epitome of crippleware.

Edited by Alexander, 02 November 2010 - 12:30 PM.
Merged posts.

[AdvMutant]

If you're gonna use a virtual machine a lot, you could just multi-boot it with your correct OSes.

[DarkLordofthePenguins]

AdvMutant said:

If you're gonna use a virtual machine a lot, you could just multi-boot it with your correct OSes.

Except if you do this, you can't switch quickly between OS's, and you only have access to the memory in the partition you're using. Virtualization is a good alternative to a multi-boot if you want to use Windows for testing software.

[AdvMutant]

It depends. Windows really is a pain to use with other OSes - Microsoft only support themselves, but don't forget about drivers, I heard about ext2 drivers for Windows. It's about what you prefer, and about the situation.

[LuthfiHakim]

AdvMutant said:

I agree. Compiling software is a pain in Windows.

Forgive me to mention this, but I usually compile my source code simply by pressing 1 key, F9. So I think your opinion here simply misleading.

DarkLordofthePenguins said:

Don't use Virtual PC. It only runs on Windows, and it only runs Windows, i.e. it only lets you run one version of Windows on top of another version of Windows. It's the epitome of crippleware.

If you only develop software for windows, will this become a problem?

[AdvMutant]

I do, too. But I had trouble compiling software such at GTK+ and wxWidgets under Windows XP.

And if you only develop windows software, I guess it's fine.