Hey guys, I have some exciting news - I want to purchase a cheap laptop or netbook and install Linux on it for my personal development and to avoid overloading my home PC. However, since I'm not familiar with Linux, I have a few questions for the friendly community.



After exploring some Linux distributions, such as Linux Mint, Kubuntu, Mandriva, Ubuntu, and openSUSE, I am now curious about other resources to help me learn more about Linux. Can anyone recommend any useful books, websites, or general development materials?

Also, I am interested in the "Scientific Linux Edition / Naulinux" distribution and would appreciate hearing from those who have used it before. Additionally, I would like to know if it is possible to efficiently program using Linux and what difficulties I might encounter.

Looking forward to your insights!

Canonical did an excellent job making Ubuntu work quickly and efficiently on a variety of hardware without any unnecessary complications, making it my top recommendation among all distributions.

When studying Linux administration, most books provide examples for at least two main families of distributions: Debian and RedHat.

With various programming tools and customization options, working in Linux may even be easier than in Windows, depending on the software and your proficiency.

I suggest working with Ubuntu for a couple of weeks to see if it suits your needs. I was surprised myself when I realized I hadn't turned on Windows in over two weeks - such is life now.

In fact, I opted to install it on both my Windows and Ubuntu systems. However, working with Windows proved to be quite distracting, especially since it lacked some familiar features that were present in Ubuntu. For instance, collapsing windows by simply clicking on the title, easy stretching, and untimely pop-ups. Additionally, running programs without drag-and-drop was quite tedious, requiring the use of handles or multi-pass dialog boxes.

After some time, Windows crashed, leaving me with no choice but to rely solely on Ubuntu. Though I was hesitant to reinstall Windows for fear of losing data, Ubuntu soon took over as the primary system. The Windows partition was only used as a backup file washer.

Eventually, I had to reinstall Ubuntu, which became my primary system. Although the Windows partition still exists without Windows, it's primarily used as a backup file washer.

Interestingly, most of my old hardware, such as printers, scanners, and more exotic devices, worked better under Linux than Windows 7. Moreover, even new hardware like MFPs with network capabilities installed easily under Linux than Windows. This is why I chose to use Ubuntu since most of the software packages I needed were available, and their portability from Debian was an essential factor.

Half a year ago, for work purposes (we had a project that was designed particularly for Linux), I had to install Linux. Before that, I mainly used Windows and once had experimented with Red Hat 12 years ago but gave up on it. After some deliberation, I settled on Kubuntu and initially tried it out on VirtualBox before installing it as my second operating system.

Since then, I haven't logged into Windows often, mostly only a couple of times in six months. Recently, when the update of the old 13.10 Kubuntu system to 14.04 failed, I reinstalled it in place where Windows used to be.

Using Linux is initially daunting but not insurmountable. Once you get used to it, you'll find that you can configure anything and everything there, as long as you're careful about what you're doing. It's also important to ensure that all the programs you require for work or other purposes are available. Since I hadn't used any proprietary software besides Windows for several years, this wasn't an issue for me. Though I'd planned to switch to Linux for a while, it wasn't until work demanded it that I finally made the change.

Hello, this is Gulshan Negi
Well, in my opinion, Linux can be a perfect operating system for innovative projects but it depends upon your particular requirements and preferences. It offers various benefits, like a functioning open-source local area, amazing execution and soundness, and profound customization choices.   
Thanks

For learning Linux, consider books like "Linux Bible" by Christopher Negus, "How Linux Works" by Brian Ward, or "The Linux Command Line" by William Shotts. Websites like Linux Journey (linuxjourney.com) and the Linux dоcumentation Project (tldp.org) are also great resources.

As for Scientific Linux/Naulinux, it's a stable distribution, often used in research and science-oriented settings, but it's not updated as frequently as other distributions. Its strong suit is computational workloads and scientific applications. However, if you're looking for general development, something like Ubuntu or Linux Mint might be more beginner-friendly.

Programming on Linux is definitely efficient - it's actually a preferred environment for many developers due to its flexibility and control over the system. You might face some difficulties in the beginning, especially if you're coming from a Windows or Mac background, but with time and practice, you'll get the hang of it. Most challenges involve getting used to the command line and understanding the file system.

Hope this helps, and best of luck on your Linux journey!

Great to hear about your interest in Linux! Here are a few resources that can help you learn and grasp Linux better:

Books:

"Linux for Dummies" by Richard Blum and Dee-Ann LeBlanc
"Linux Command Line and Shell Scripting Bible" by Richard Blum and Christine Bresnahan
"How Linux Works" by Brian Ward
"The Linux Programming Interface: A Linux and UNIX System Programming Handbook" by Michael Kerrisk.
Websites:

Linux.org
Linux Command
Linux Journey
Codecademy has a command line course.
Interactive Learning:

Exercism
Codecademy's Learn the Command Line
Forums and Communities:

Stack Overflow
Unix & Linux Stack Exchange
Official Ubuntu Forums
LinuxQuestions.org
As for Scientific Linux (SL)/NauLinux, it's used primarily by scientific communities due to its heavy optimization for scientific computing. It's a derivative of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) and is maintained by CERN and other labs. Unfortunately, as of 2024, CERN is no longer supporting Scientific Linux, and the latest version (7) is only receiving security updates. You may want to consider other options like Fedora or CentOS which have similar characteristics to Scientific Linux.

As for programming, Linux is an excellent environment for developing software. It has a robust terminal interface, extensive programming support, and package managers like apt, yum, or zypper that make it easy to get the software and libraries you need. Most of the difficulties you might encounter when programming in Linux might be related to:

The learning curve: The terminal and command line can be daunting if you're used to GUIs. However, it's a powerful tool once you get the hang of it.
Driver or hardware compatibility: While most hardware is supported, not all devices have Linux drivers.
Less commercial software: While Linux has a lot of open-source alternatives, commercial software (especially certain proprietary design or engineering tools) is less common on Linux.


Here are some additional resources:

Online Courses

edX: Introduction to Linux
Coursera: Google IT Automation with Python This program includes a course specifically on using Python with Linux.
YouTube Channels

The Linux Experiment: Provides beginner-friendly Linux guides, tips, tricks, and reviews.
Chris Titus Tech: Has numerous Linux tutorials and guides.
Ubuntu: The official Ubuntu YouTube channel. Although it focuses on Ubuntu, it provides general tips and updates applicable to many other distros.
Additional Books

"A Practical Guide to Linux Commands, Editors, and Shell Programming" by Mark G. Sobell
"Linux Bible" by Christopher Negus
"Linux: The Textbook, Second Edition" by Syed Mansoor Sarwar, Robert M Koretsky
As for Scientific Linux / Naulinux, it's important to note that since support from CERN has ended, it might not be viable for long-term usage. Other distributions geared towards scientific work include:

Fedora Scientific: A Fedora spin designed for scientific research. It comes pre-loaded with software like GNU Octave, SageMath, and others.
Bio-Linux: An Ubuntu-based distribution made specifically for bioinformatics.
For programming in Linux, some issues might arise due to the variety of distributions available - what works on one distribution might not work on another due to differences in packages, configuration, and underlying system setup. Also, more specialized professional software (like certain IDEs) might not have the same level of support or feature completeness on Linux.

Lastly, community websites like GitHub are indispensable tools. You can find countless Linux-related projects, scripts, configuration examples, and more. Many of these projects welcome newcomers and it can be a great way to learn!


Additional learning resources can include:

Podcasts: These can provide regular updates, useful tips, and interesting discussions about Linux and open-source software.

The Linux Action Show
Late Night Linux
Ubuntu Podcast
Linux Unplugged
Blogs and News Websites:

OMG! Ubuntu! - It's a great resource for Ubuntu users, but it also covers general Linux news.
Phoronix – They focus on Linux hardware, news, and benchmark testing results.
Planet GNOME - An aggregation of many blogs from developers and contributors in the GNOME software community.
Additional YouTube Channels:

Level1Linux: This channel has a combination of news, guides, and reviews.
DistroTube: This one covers a bunch of different Linux distributions and offers tutorials.
More Advanced Books:

"Advanced Programming in the UNIX Environment" by W. Richard Stevens and Stephen A. Rago
"UNIX and Linux System Administration Handbook" by Evi Nemeth, Garth Snyder, Trent R. Hein, and Ben Whaley. It's a bit more towards system administration, but it covers a lot of ground on how Linux systems work.
And as you get more familiar with Linux, you might want to start contributing to open source projects. This often comes with its own set of challenges and rewards and is a great way to learn by doing. You can start with bug reporting and from there move to helping with dоcumentation, testing, and coding.

Joining Linux User Groups (LUGs) is another great way to learn from others and participate in group activities related to Linux.

Regarding Scientific Linux, if your work or hobby is not on the bleeding-edge of high-energy physics, a more mainstream distribution might be a better choice given the lack of updates for Scientific Linux. The Fedora, Ubuntu or openSUSE distributions are easier to use and have large communities and resources to support you.

As for programming on Linux, some might find it easier than on other platforms due to the built-in toolchains, editors, and interpreters for most programming languages. Various IDEs adjusted for Linux like VS Code, Atom, Eclipse, NetBeans or JetBrains suite are also available.