[Tutor] Noob seeking help (Linux related)

[Alan Gauld]

On 02/09/2019 19:36, Matthew Ngaha wrote:
> I'm thinking about installing openSuse Linux.


I have not used Suse in over 10 years but I suspect they follow
the model of other distros...


>  They have 2 versions
> available. 1) Leap (A stable release) 2) Tumbleweed (A rolling
> release). Stable means all software remains the same and does not get
> upgraded. 

Usually its not quite that hard and fast. You do get security upgrades
for example.

And the repositories will be updated just not necessarily installed.

Personally I take a very conservative approach to software updates. I only
install updates if I know I need them. I'm still running Python 3.6 for
example
not having seen anything in 3.7 that I need.

I also run a LTS version of Mint. LTS is like an ultra stable version so
updates are even more belated,  but frankly things don't change
that much. I'm still running Python 3.5 on my netbook and I haven't
broken anything yet.



> To upgrade you need some proficiency in Linux. So if you
> have Python 3.5 you will have to upgrade yourself and I hear this
> might not be safe. 

It should be a case of setting your software manager to point at the
right site
and simply letting it get on with it. Provided you don't want to be on
the bleeding
edge there shouldn't be any problem.

> Rolling release means the repositories are updated
> constantly and if you run a command on the command line your OS will
> be updated where by all the software installed on your computer gets
> automatically upgraded to match the repositories.

You can usually use a GUI tool too if you aren't keen on CLIs.


> which to get and which is better for a developer (beginner noob with
> little Linux experience). 
Only you can know for sure. Do you do any work that might be lost if an
upgrade went wrong? If so be more cautious. If  you do all your real work
on a server then it doesn't matter too much. If its just for fun/personal
use then you can probably afford to live on the edge.


> my concern is if I write code for say Python 3.6 or 3.7 then months
> later 3.8 comes out, will it break my code or is porting over code
> fairly easy to do?

Python usually only issues one major upgrade per year and most tools will
support at least 2 older versions (I don't know about Django but I'd be
amazed if they didn't support at least 2 versions.) So you should be good
for well over a year, if not more. Certainly more than a "few months".


> Lastly, someone I asked said something about virtualenv. If my OS has
> Python 3.6, can that same OS without updating Python use virtualenv to
> install Python 3.7, even though the installed Python on the system is
> Python 3.6?

Yes, that's kind of the idea of virtual envs.

That said I don't use them and still have both 3.6 and 2.7 installed on
my PC.

Seems to be working just fine. In the worst case I tweak the PYTHONPATH
environment value.

-- 
Alan G
Author of the Learn to Program web site
http://www.alan-g.me.uk/
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