Ask HN: Python+Ruby hackers - which OS/distro are you using? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: Python+Ruby hackers - which OS/distro are you using?

1 pointnewsisan6 comments

I was reading somewhere that a good way to choose an OS is to use the same one that your future communities will be using, so I was wondering - what OS are python and ruby hackers using? If Linux, please specify the distro, as that is basically what I am choosing between.

I am sure there would be no issue with Ubuntu, Linux Mint, Mandriva or OpenSUSE, so it makes sense to use the one most of you guys are.

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If Linux, please specify the distro, as that is basically what I am choosing between.

I use Ubuntu 10.10 (I generally switch to the development versions of Ubuntu around the second or third alphas), but I am not sure that there is much difference between similar versions of Debian, Ubuntu, Linux Mint (with mostly the same applications, all that would differ would be some customization). I imagine RPM-based distributions like Mandriva, OpenSUSE, and Fedora would be similar.

As a Rubyist, I hack on a Linux desktop and a MacBook Pro. On my desktop, I'm running Gentoo unstable, Snow Leopard 10.6.4 on the MacBook Pro. It's been my experience, however, that Ubuntu tends to dominate the community of Rubyists using Linux.

That said, OSX seems to be the most popular choice among developers, followed by Ubuntu/Fedora/CentOS.

IMO, there's more important things to choose an OS based on. Especially since Python and Ruby are both well-supported on all of the unices.

Find an OS that makes you happy. Like the Mac interface? Go OS X. Like tiling window managers, and automatic package management? Go linux.

FWIW, I use Ubuntu 10.04.

This guy has a good point. I'm using FreeBSD 8.1 at the moment. I push my app up to a git repository and then pull it down to Linux(debian) to test it and it works. My friend pulls it down to a Mac and it works.

I use linux: gentoo, arch, and ubuntu. But if you're using ruby, you should just use rvm. Then the distro doesn't matter that much.

Debian

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