There are 2 reasons I have learned/am learning Linux: 1. It is cheaper as a web hosting platform. Not substantially, but enough to make a difference. This is a big deal when you are a library with a barebones budget or an indie developer (I am both). Note that if you are looking for enterprise-level support, the picture is quite different.
1a. A less significant reason is that Linux is much less resource-intensive on computers and works well on old/underpowered computers and embedded systems. If you want to hack an Android device or Chromebook to expand its functionality, Linux is what you want. I am running Ubuntu on my Acer C720 Chromebook using Crouton, and now it has all the functionality of a full-fledged laptop at $200. 2. Many scripting languages and application servers were born in *nix and have struggled to port over to non-*nix platforms. For example, Python and Ruby both are a major pain to set up in Windows. Setting up a production-level Rails or Django server is stupidly overcomplicated in Windows to the point where it is probably easier just to use Linux. It's much easier to "sudo apt-get install" in Ubuntu than to spend hours tweaking environment variables and config files in Windows to achieve the same effect. I will go out on a limb here and say that *nix isn't inherently better than Windows except perhaps the fact that it is less resource-intensive (which doesn't apply to OSX, the most popular *nix variant). #1 and #2 above are really based on historical circumstances rather than any inherent superiority in Linux. Back when the popular scripting languages, database servers, and application servers were first developed in the 90s, Windows had a very sucktastic security model and was generally not up to the task of running a server. Windows has cleaned up its act quite a bit, but the ship has sailed, at this point. If you compare Windows today to Linux today, they are on very equal footing in terms of server features. The only real advantage Linux has at this point is that the big distros like Ubuntu have a much more robust package ecosystem that makes it much easier to install common server-side applications through the command line. But when you look at actually using and managing the OS, Linux is at a clear disadvantage. And if you compare the two as desktop environments, Windows wins hands-down except for a very few niche use cases. I say this as someone who uses a Ubuntu laptop every day. (Anyone who has read this far might be interested to know that Windows 10 is going to include an official MS-supported command line package management suite called OneGet that will build on the package ecosystem of the third-party Chocolatey suite.) Josh Welker -----Original Message----- From: Code for Libraries [mailto:CODE4LIB@LISTSERV.ND.EDU] On Behalf Of Siobhain Rivera Sent: Monday, October 27, 2014 9:02 AM To: CODE4LIB@LISTSERV.ND.EDU Subject: [CODE4LIB] Why learn Unix? Hi everyone, I'm part of the ASIS&T Student Chapter and Indiana University, and we're putting together a series of workshops on Unix. We've noticed that a lot of people don't seem to have a good idea of why they should learn Unix, particularly the reference/non technology types. We're going to do some more research to make a fact sheet about the uses of Unix, but I thought I'd pose the question to the list - what do you think are reasons librarians need to know Unix, even if they aren't in particularly tech heavy jobs? I'd appreciate any input. Have a great week! Siobhain Rivera Indiana University Bloomington Library Science, Digital Libraries Specialization ASIS&T-SC, Webmaster
