GNU/Linux vs. Windows as Python platform

[Martijn Faassen]

Terry Reedy <reedy37 at home.com> wrote:

> "D-Man" <dsh8290 at rit.edu> wrote in message
> news:mailman.990198509.15564.python-list at python.org...

>> Debian has a lot (>4000 I think) packages.  There are a lot of
>> prebuilt python extensions neatly bundled up into packages.
>> Installation is as simple as the above commands.

> Good, my 12-year-plus-old memories of working with Unix have become
> somewhat outdated.  I have been unnecessary frightened by the prospect of
> having to compile.  And for Windows installs that require reboot, the time
> should be about the same.

Even compiling has changed a lot in the last decade (or less). 
For many many applications,

./configure; make

does the trick. Manually editing config files is becoming rarer and rarer.
Though the bothersome thing comes next, the 'make install'
ends up installing all kinds of stuff that isn't easy to remove anymore
(what got installed where?).

A package management system (like Red Hat & others's rpm or Debian's apt) is 
a lot nicer for those reasons. Debian is extra nice (though not as
newbie friendly) as it tries to detect if you changed any config files,
and when you upgrade a package (also seamless) it'll ask you what it
should do (keep your changes, install the new config file, etc).

Regards,

Martijn
-- 
History of the 20th Century: WW1, WW2, WW3?
No, WWW -- Could we be going in the right direction?