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:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of
Siobhain Rivera
Sent: Monday, October 27, 2014 9:02 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
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