#Should I choose Windows or Linux for better dev future?

35 messages · Page 1 of 1 (latest)

pure tartan
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Hey everyone, I’ve been using Windows primarily since 2017, and throughout these years, I haven’t encountered any blocking issues that have hindered my work as a developer. However, I’m currently contemplating whether to switch to Linux as my primary operating system or continue using Windows.

I’ve used Linux on Windows, particularly for Git Bash and SSH when deploying applications. Considering this experience, I’m wondering if it would be beneficial for me to switch to Linux today or if I should continue using Windows. This decision isn’t solely related to my current official job.

Thanks

proud spokeBOT
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TJ-Bot
Hey everyone, I’ve been using Windows primarily since 2017, and throughout these years, I haven’t encountered any blocking issues that have hindered my work as a developer. However, I’m currently contemplating whether to switch to Linux as my primary opera

Choosing between Windows and Linux for your development future depends largely on your goals, projects, and the ecosystems you're working with.

  • Windows: Great for a broad range of software, especially if you develop in .NET, Windows desktop apps, or use MS Office heavily. Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) has greatly improved Linux compatibility, making it easier to run Linux tools without leaving Windows.

  • Linux: Preferred for many backend, cloud, and open-source projects. It offers native compatibility with most servers, development tools, and container systems (Docker, Kubernetes). Linux is also favored for programming languages like Python, Ruby, and C/C++ in devops or embedded systems.

If you’ve been fine on Windows and WSL satisfies your need for Linux tools, you might not have an urgent need to switch. However, if you want to deeply engage with server management, open-source contributions, or cloud-native development, investing time in Linux can pay off.

In short: Windows is solid for general dev and mixed environments; Linux is often better for cloud, server-side, and open source ecosystems.

Useful links:

- AI generated response using gpt-4.1-mini model
tropic fjord
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I believe that all of Windows, Linux and FreeBSD have valuable lessons in store for you

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Each of the OSes have decisive advantages which are useful when you need them, and you should be aware of those advantages

pure tartan
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ive good knowledge in both windows and linux, but more stable on Windows since it's everywhere in my community

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my questions isn't about that learning, it's about which one should be my top focus

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IOW, daily uses

tropic fjord
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what kinda things would you like to program?

pure tartan
tropic fjord
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games -> windows, virtually all games run windows

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ai -> linux, most ai software is made for only linux

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desktop -> learn cross-platform development to get the most users

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devops -> i'd say you're required to know all the OS'es so you can slot into any existing infrastructure

fading rover
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There's a lot of things like gradle plugins or other tools that only get developed on linux and thus subtly break on windows because testing was only done on linux. Similar to the "test only in chrome" web developers stuff always breaks on firefox. This reason alone it's better to either just pick linux OR really learn the caveats of WSL2 on windows. Windows with WSL is very nice now but the whole AI in windows shit where they just train on everything you have makes a good case for linux only from here on out.

pure tartan
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alright, a sub-question: which Linux is better for java devs like me ? there are multiple ones, im quite familiar with Ubunto

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or are they all the same ?

tropic fjord
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so it shouldn't matter which OS you're on

fading rover
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For me, all linux the same, I don't use linux desktop, just terminal. BSD is different. Others can better tell you diffs between linux variants. My opinion best is to not rely on any feature beholden to a particular linux.

tropic fjord
# pure tartan or are they all the same ?

linux is the kernel, the distros package different userspaces according to their opinion of what a good UX is

for programmers i'd follow linus torvalds and recommend fedora

inner fossil
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there is multiple family of linux,

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the family the most used in university is debian from my experience. Then you should see what is used in your country and location.

some enterprise will actually really like redhat distribution, so using fedora, centos, redhat and derivatives is necessary

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some other university will use Freebsd and the like

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why am I talking about university and what they use you may ask.
because university using the os and application actually mean that there are guy paid to maintain these app and os.

grand cairn
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I like linux, here is why:

Package manager.

I can install GCC, java, and other stuff with command instead of manual downloads and environment variables.

Native docker.

Docker takes as much memory as it needs instead of using a fixed value. It's also more stable, WLS2 crashed often for me.

Better support for AI

Some AI related tools, e.g. Tensorflow have more versions for linux. (At least the last time I checked this was the case.)

I still have windows installed because of games.

tropic fjord
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rose wave
tropic fjord