Hi, I’m learning python and I have purchased a 2015 MacBook air. I want to install Linux on it (Ubuntu) but my friend who’s a developer told me to leave the MacOs because they are similar as operative systems. What do you think? Should I change the os and switch to Linux? Thanks. Edit: thank you for your replies. There are still so many things I don’t understand about programming and os, sorry about that.
It’s true that they are both operating systems.
And they both have terminal emulators installed by default
They are certainly some of the operating systems of all time
You sound like you’re a bit new to software engineering/computer science, so I would stick to MacOS. Linux as a Desktop OS is not quite a pain-free experience and you’d likely run into issues that would get in the way of you learning programming.
What people mean by MacOS and Linux being similar is that they are both Unix-based, which basically means that the command-line experience in both OS’s is pretty much the same.
What’s your reason for wanting to switch to Linux? Python works under Mac OS just fine.
MacOS and Linux are similar for the purpose of learning Python. However I recommend to install GNU/Linux. MacOS hides its internals to provide a better user experience, however as a developer you need to learn how the OS works, and GNU/Linux is much better suited for this.
That is also a very good point, thanks.
See how well the OS runs. MacOS does have a reputation for slowing down on older hardware as newer versions target their newer machines, and I’m also not even sure if a 2015 is supported by Apple anymore?
If the laptop is slow or not recievinf security uodates anymore, then switching to Linux may give you a performance boost and will put you back on to an update secure system.
If MacOS is still running fast on that laptop and it’s secure, then it’d just come down to preference. If you like Linux, or like the degree of direct control Linux gives you then it would be worth installing it.
And if you decide to keep MacOS you should still try and fresh install the OS, as that may also give a performance boost.
Edit: in terms of being similar OS, they are but it’s not relevant. Both run python, and the hardware is what matters more when it comes down to compiling. It’s more about the rest of the OS and what your preferences are.
I’ll second dual booting. If you want to try linux, I say put Linux Mint or KDE Neon on a flash drive and live boot it. That way you can test Linux without needing to install it right away.
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Mac OS uses Unix, Linux is Unix Like. At the core their structure’s are the same
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however despite being the same they have different software packages.
The question you need to ask yourself is: does MacOS have the software I need to do what I want?
For me I need Xcode for iOS development, so that is a yes. But for you, perhaps you may prefer the Python packages on Linux. Or the ease which new software can be installed.
However regardless on what is better or not, know that you can always re-install MacOS afterwords. Macs have a recovery mode that let’s you wipe the ssd and reinstall. I used it when I upgraded my 2015 Mac from 128GB to 1TB.
Python is basically the same on Linux and Mac. The command line tools are actually different. Some apps like date or awk work a little different on Mac. You can install gnu equivalents like gawk via brew or Mac ports.
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