Programming: Which Linux distribution to choose in 2022?

If you’re viewing this article on your Android smartphone or Chromebook, then you’re using Linux without even knowing it. However, be aware that there are a plurality of distributions on Linux. If the latter sometimes require a certain expertise to make the most of them, they can be of great service to you!

Why would you bother? First, because you are a programmer, an engineer or a system administrator who wants to get the most out of Linux. But also because you are an experienced user and want to push your computer as far as possible. If you recognize yourself in these scenarios, then this selection of Linux distributions made by the editorial staff of ZDNet is certainly made for you.

Fedora

Fedora, Red Hat’s community Linux distribution, is today the main distribution in the eyes of many professionals and in particular developers. It is indeed the consumer distribution that pushes the limits of Linux the most. It is powered by the latest Linux kernel and the latest free software. A personality as important as Linus Torvalds uses Fedora for his development work. Need we say more?

Good news for newbies: Fedora is easy to install and configure. You don’t need to be a Linux expert to use it. Fedora additionally also has an excellent portal for developers. It includes dedicated guides for developing command-line, desktop, mobile, and web applications.

The Fedora Developer Portal also includes an excellent guide for developing hardware devices such as Arduino and Raspberry Pi. Finally, the distribution comes with development tools such as the Eclipse Integrated Development Environment (IDE) for Java, C/C++ and PHP and Vagrant, a tool for creating reproducible and portable development environments based on containers or virtual machines (VM).

Unless you work on Debian/Ubuntu family programs, Fedora should be your first choice for a development operating system. For developers who read us, however, we recommend that you turn to the most recent version of Ubuntu.

Arch Linux

If you want to spruce up your Linux desktop from floor to ceiling, then Arch Linux definitely deserves your attention. With this distribution, it’s time for total configuration. Everything is under your control. However, beware: although Arch’s slogan is “Keep it simple”, not everything is so easy. For someone whose first “desktop” was the Bourne shell, setting up the Arch distribution won’t be too difficult. But, for those who didn’t grow up with a command line in front of them, that will be another matter!

If you want to spruce up your Linux desktop from floor to ceiling, then Arch Linux definitely deserves your attention. With this distribution, it’s time for total configuration. Everything is under your control. However, beware: although Arch’s slogan is “Keep it simple”, not everything is so easy. For someone whose first “desktop” was the Bourne shell, setting up the Arch distribution won’t be too difficult. But, for those who didn’t grow up with a command line in front of them, that will be another matter!

Arch only comes with a command shell. It’s up to you which desktop environment you’ll use and how you’ll customize it. With sweat and hard work, you will be able to tailor it to your exact requirements and needs. Keep in mind, however, that this will not be an easy task. Even with the help of the excellent ArchWiki documentation site, you’ll have plenty of work to do. Don’t worry: the effort is well worth it.

Manjaro

If that seems unattainable to you, you can also turn to the Manjaro distribution. This distribution takes care of much of the installation and operation of Arch. It comes in three main desktop editions: GNOME, KDE Plasma, and XFCE.

If you want to switch Linux kernels, Manjaro is one of the few distros that makes it easy to switch operating systems. It supports multiple cores simultaneously. Just reboot your system, make your selection from the boot menu, and you’re back on your desktop with a fresh kernel underneath.

gentoo

If you really want to dive into the intricacies of Linux, then the source code-based Gentoo distribution is for you. Be careful though: Gentoo does not have an installer. In other words, it’s up to you. If the efforts to be made will be numerous, the game is worth the candle. Once you have absorbed the Gentoo manual, you can apply all the customizations you want.

Unless you’re an expert Gentoo user, we strongly recommend that you keep a copy of the Manual on another computer, as you’re going to need all the help you can get to get Gentoo up and running.

Once that’s done, you’ll also need to learn the ins and outs of the Portage package system. Unlike almost all other Linux distributions, which use binary software packaging systems such as Red Hat’s RPM and Debian’s APT, Portage is source code based. So, for example, if you want to install a program in Portage, you compile the source code of the application on your machine. You can also “edit” the source using USE flags customizations.

If you want absolute control over what’s on your desktop, Gentoo is for you.

sabayon

Want to enjoy the benefits of Gentoo without having to put in so much effort? So, just like Manjaro for Arch, you can use Sabayon Linux with Gentoo. The goal of the developers of this distribution is to provide the best possible user experience by providing the latest open-source technologies in an elegant format.

With Sabayon, you get a state-of-the-art operating system that is both stable and reliable. In effect, Sabayon makes most of the Gentoo configuration decisions for you. If you retain some control over what is being done, you won’t need to fiddle with every parameter to get a working system.

Note that Sabayon will change its name to become MocaccinoOS. The main difference with Gentoo is that it uses the new container-based packaging system, Luet. This system is still in beta, and I can only recommend this version to experienced developers and users.

Kali

Kali Linux is a Linux distribution designed for penetration testing or hacking. Thanks to the Mr. Robot series, Kali Linux has established itself as the best known distribution dedicated to piracy. Kali Linux is the fruit of the work of the developers of the security company Offensive Security. This distro is built on Debian. Historically, it dates back to the BackTrack distro, a Knoppix-based penetration testing and digital forensics distro.

While installing and configuring Kali is as easy as any Debian distribution, the default software packages take a different course. For example, instead of LibreOffice for your default office suite or Thunderbird for your email client, neither comes by default.

Instead, it comes with security programs like OWASP ZAP, to beat websites looking for security issues; SQLMAP, which automates the detection and exploitation of vulnerabilities by SQL injection; and THC Hydra, a popular password cracker.

Kali Linux cannot turn you into a hacker or a security expert, however. For that, you really need to know about computers, coding, and security. It simply provides you with the tools and expert needs to get started. If you just want to pretend to be a hacker, start with Hacker Typer.

SystemRescue

The flip side of breaking into systems (or verifying the possibility of breaking into them) is repairing systems that are already damaged. The best Linux distribution dedicated to repairing systems is undoubtedly SystemRescue. This operating system, also known as SystemRescueCD – which gives you an idea of ​​its age – is designed to repair damaged computers.

This distribution is very useful to help Windows PC users when they encounter Windows installation problems or corrupted hard drives. Be careful though: SystemRescue is not designed as a permanent operating system. You boot it from a USB drive, DVD drive or even CD drive. Once launched, you can use it to explore a half-dead computer and attempt to bring it back to life.

Big downside: SystemRescue is not easy to use. Like Kali, it gives you the tools you need to get the job done, without holding hands. The distribution comes with programs such as GNU Parted, for manipulating disk partitions and filesystems; ddrescue, which is a data recovery tool that works by copying block-level data from corrupted storage devices; and rsync, a program to clone data from a failed disk across your local network to another stable computer.

None of these tools are easy to use. I cannot recommend highly enough that you read the SystemRescue manual before attempting to rescue a failed system. That said, once you know what to do, you can expect to hear from your friends and family whenever their Windows PC goes seriously haywire.

Source: ZDNet.com