Windows vs. Linux

[Andy Dingley]

noahmd at gmail.com wrote:

> Is Windows
> an okay enviornment in which to program under Python, or do you
> recommend that I run a dual-boot of Linux or maybe a VMWare install to
> program under Python?

Python is one of the best languages I've found for
platform-independence - significantly better than Perl.  Right now I'm
coding Python that runs happily under Redhat, Windows /Cygwin and
Windows native. It also integrates closely with command line tools like
subversion, including piping their output into Python-based XML
parsers. This really wouldn't be easy with Perl.

Find yourself an editor that's pretty similar under both Unix and
Windows. jEdit is a good place to start.

You might also like to look at running Cygwin under Windows. It's a
Unix-like command shell that provides nearly every command-line Unix
tool you could want on a Windows box. Can be a little awkward at times,
but it's a huge advantage over raw Windows.

I'd never recommend dual-boot for anything!
Hardware is cheap, time and trouble is expensive.