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I want to install Linux but i know that it is not compatible with a lot of software and it is hard to use but it is good at security issues. so i would like your help for choosing the best distro as beginner software developer that will prevent my computer from viruses and help me in learning of software development

Gad
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  • This post is off topic here. Linux is easier to use then Windows. You are probably more interested in the GUI for a desktop then Linux (Android would probably qualify as the easiest Linux distro to use, but it is very different to Linux on the desktop.) Ubuntu is a good choice as its well supported and easier then other distros for end users. Mint also comes up often - it is probably slightly more versatile then Ubuntu by default, but with a smaller support base (and is based on Ubuntu.) – davidgo May 29 '20 at 21:54
  • You might also want to look into virtualisation or containerisation. In general, most modern web development takes place on any OS, but ends up running in a VM or container. Looking into Docker Desktop for example might give you some hands on experience with this. If you decide to switch OS in general, it depends on what you're trying to achieve. For example Kali Linux is used for penetration testing, but rarely as a normal desktop OS. CentOS is used a lot in enterprise for servers. Ubuntu/Mint used as a common Desktop OS. – KHobbits May 30 '20 at 02:29

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Which distribution is right for you depends largely on how much interest you have in learning new things.

There are distributions that aim to be intuitive to use, but make it difficult to take the training wheels off, and others that have a steeper learning curve initially, but explain how things work rather than how you use them.

The underlying software is largely the same for all of these, but differences are in the selection of what is included in the default installation, and what combinations of software packages are supported by the distribution.

Generally speaking, a distribution that allows more combinations will be less tightly integrated as there are fewer assumptions that can be made by packagers.

A distribution that has completely standardized on the GNOME desktop and does not support anything else will have very good integration of all system services, so setting up networking in a standard setup with an Ethernet cable or a WiFi network with automatic configuration will just work, and you get a nice icon that tells you the connection status and lets you switch to a different network.

On the other extreme, there are distributions that even leave you the choice to exchange central system components, and generally aim to offer you full flexibility, so you can build more complex network setups, e.g. when you want to use multiple network cards at the same time.

RedHat and Fedora are on the "more tightly integrated" side of things, with lots of choices already made in the distribution. Support for the main system is solid, but anything off the beaten path is "expert" territory, so you get mostly "how to do X" answers instead of "how X works", so there is a definite knowledge wall between novice and expert users that is difficult to get over.

Ubuntu is somewhere in the middle these days. Still lots of default choices, but there are projects that keep things like the KDE and XFCE desktops working even if GNOME is the default. Support is of varying quality, there is https://askubuntu.com/ which has a lot of answers from people who learned the same thing five minutes ago, so these are very accessible, but quite often also horribly wrong or miss the big picture.

Debian is the basis for Ubuntu -- it has a lot less integration, because any attempt to make an assumption on what a user might want to do with the machine is internally met with resistance if there are people who have different requirements that are broken by the assumption, and they basically treat "all Ubuntu users" as one big group who have pretty uniform requirements. Support channels give either no answer or an accurate one.

Arch Linux is a bit smaller than Debian, so they make a few concessions to limited manpower, but in general they aim to be as flexible as possible and provide excellent documentation. It takes a bit of dedication to get comfortable here because you need to pick and choose options straight from the beginning, but you can usually find a good explanation of what the choices mean and how to tweak things by entering a few words into the search engine of their wiki.

There are a few hundred other distributions, often with very narrow focus on a particular user group (so they can make assumptions about their users that hold), you can probably ignore most of them as being very niche. Distrowatch is indeed a good starting point, as would be running a few "live systems" (i.e. bootable USB sticks that run, albeit a bit slowly, without installing anything to harddisk) to get a feel for whether you feel comfortable with their design choices.

Simon Richter
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Consider trying the most popular distro, you can find them on https://distrowatch.com/.

I recommend a known robust distro: (or debian/ubuntu based distros).

It's one of the most popular distro, the advantage of this is that you have many pre-compiled package, it's kind of default distribution for anyone interesting in this alternative OS.

But unlike Redmond'OS, you can choose @install time (even later) the Window Manager. (gnome, kde, i3, awesome, xfce, cinnamon...)

This distro is used by professionals as well as beginners. It's easy to install and to use. Definitely give a try to Ubuntu or linux-mint.

Both have a good user base, so when it's time to get help, you are in the good way. stackexchange sites dedicate a specific website to Ubuntu distro: https://askubuntu.com

Linux Mint or Ubuntu are used by tons of people who the letmotiv can be resumed as

Running an OS that just works (with no bullshits like Serial Numbers and too much malware softs...)

This is AFAIK the only one stackexchange website dedicated to one distro. Mint in action (mint is based on Ubuntu):

Gilles Quénot
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