Citrus Growers Forum

Sylvain · Posted: Sat 01 Dec, 2007 7:33 am

Well, I don't know your needs and what you use computer for. About that, you are maybe right.
You spoke about desktop use and I answered about that. Saying that Linux is rich meant you have tens of thousands programs coming freely with it. Don't have to pay each time.
Now you speak about servers and databases. Well, you know for sure that Linux is famous for that!...
For the rest, I think you are wrong but I know that I will not change your thinking. I have so often heard those arguments....
Just few points to show you:
- all Linux are Unix compliant: no problem of compatibility witch is not true for the different forms of Windows. Wink

-most programing language and environment are common between Linux and Windows: C C++, shells, Python and so many others...

Farther you say: «it would be insane for any commercial startup software company to sell their wares to a Linux desktop platform.»
There I agree: Linux is not the best place to make money and that's why we love it. But it is possible. Some business plans permit it legally.

JoeReal · Posted: Sat 01 Dec, 2007 11:57 am

Sylvain wrote:

- all Linux are Unix compliant: no problem of compatibility witch is not true for the different forms of Windows. Wink

-most programing language and environment are common between Linux and Windows: C C++, shells, Python and so many others...

This is certainly not true if you are writing programs that have graphical user interface. You will have to rewrite your code under different distributions and Kernels. If you are just writing console type programs that doesn't require any graphical objects, then that one is cross compatible between the KDE/GNOME, fluxbox/idesk, XFCE4 for example. Codes that references the graphics are not cross compatible, and the very same reason why not all desktop programs in one distro (or flavor) will be available for all. One of the best Linux program is Mozilla-FireFox and the second best would be Open Office desktop.

If you are just a user, then Linux is great, but if you are doing programming, like we do, the devil's in the programming details and cross platform codes are a myth. It is like write once and debug everywhere, same with Windows too. The only difference is that we write once in Windows, we usually are compliant with 98% of our clients.

Bring home the bacon means we need to support our families too, and can't do it with Linux at this stage.

Sylvain · Posted: Sat 01 Dec, 2007 1:04 pm

O.K., now I agree with nearly everything you said.
About graphical interface, it isn't true anymore. It is true that under Linux, there is different desktops (I said Linux is rich), mainly Gnome and Kde each written in is own graphical library.(gtk and qt) but both are compatible. And there is even a Windows "taste" of gtk.
For example I write programs in Python, I am using Boa's ide (graphical development environment) and wxwindow, the graphical library for gtk, and guess what!? Windows versions of gtk, wxwindows, python and Boa exist!
And my programs are Windows compatible.
But then, you are right: it needs some tweaking to be ok. mainly for stupid details like fonts that are not the same for Linux and Windows. It's boring.
But it is changing (on the Linux side indeed Wink

), Linux is now compatible with Windows truetype fonts.