Favorite flavor of Linux? (for python or anything else)

[Christoph Haas]

On Sunday 04 December 2005 19:56, Aahz wrote:
> Christoph Haas  <email at christoph-haas.de> wrote:
> >The operating system/distribution is not connected to the application
> >(Python). It will probably run everywhere. But we recently had this
> >topic and a majority seemed to vote for Ubuntu. I personally prefer
> >Debian.
>
> Ubuntu *is* Debian, just repackaged.

I know. :) (Would be bad if I wouldn't.)

> I used to prefer Debian until stable wouldn't work with my newest
> machine because it was two years out of date (this was *not* a
> machine with bleeding-edge components). 

The delay until Sarge was very long. But the release schedule has been 
tightened. Etch will be released next year. So if you prefer having a 
stable environment and can live with a (at max) two year old distribution 
then it should be okay. (Besides: the hardware support is done by the 
Linux kernel - not the GNU distribution. So that's likely not Debian's 
fault.)

> Of course, one can use Debian-testing, but that isn't packaged, and
> I want a packaged OS.

You probably mean that Testing (the upcoming "Etch" stable release) is not 
yet available as a "stable" release. But actually that doesn't make much 
difference. From my personal experience most of the time 'testing' is 
hardly less stable than any Ubuntu stable release. Ubuntu is just easier 
to install and maintain because it has less bells and whistles and 
provides a ready environment without needing much knowledge.

However the same packages that are currently in 'testing' will be 'stable' 
later. You are just dealing with brand-new packages that may be buggier. 
And you don't get reliable security support yet.

(I even run 'unstable' on my desktop. Not just because I need it for 
development but also because it's mostly stable enough to work with.
I wouldn't run critical public services on it though. Python development 
has never been a problem here.)

Regards
 Christoph
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