What is a good entry level distibution of linux/unix for a programmer?

[saintsfan0990]

So I am looking for a good preferable stable dissolution of Linux or Linux/unix, that comes out of the box ready for a programmer. I am trying to learn the allegro graphics library on windows and it is cumbersome. To some extend pointless since a program that could be made in Linux could be easy ported to windows if written in portable code to begin with, and vice versa. I know that Windows makes a lot of simple things harder but honestly it is almost not worth it at all. I am looking for something reliable. Something with a community behind it and or forums/documentation. I did a dual boot of puppy a while ago. I liked how easy it was to bring run it from a thumb drive and I really like how light weight Linux is on CPU usage. However, I am seriously looking for something that a programmer can use. I have heard that a lot of Linux distros come with compilers and things. I used cmake to build a Allegro monolith and it was a pain. I saw the instuctions for doing the same thing in Linux and they were only about 15 % the length and complexity of the ones that were required to so the same thing on Windows. I was using msys64 and still couldn't build a reliable dll because building the monolith after the first time was still missing some dependencies. I also really don't like the GCC. If possible is there a Linux distro with a flexible compiler like the Microsoft incremental linker ver. 14 available for Linux. I really want to do a dual boot. Any suggestions for doing that with a Windows 10 PC. Any suggestions on a safe way to install a Distro dual boot, maybe something that comes with a installer?

 

[SchizTech]

Windows 10, since build 1607, has an Ubuntu shell hidden within. It can be enabled thusly:

https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/commandline/wsl/install_guide

Performance won't be as good as running any flavor of linux natively of course but it's an option short of dual-booting

 

[saintsfan0990]

Yes. I am looking for a native flavor of linux. Trying to feel out the crowd for something that would be recommended for a c developer. I would like to do a dual boot, on a partitioned 240 gb + or - a few gb crucial ssd. One partition for windows 10 + program and maybe a smaller one for linux. Then I could use my to OS' seperately. And then I could use my harddisk as storage. I am actually looking for a lot of help with this. I am still curious what people recommend for a newbie to linux.

 

[SchizTech]

OK. I personally haven't gone beyond Kubuntu in my foray into the world of Linux. Generally some flavor of *buntu has been a standard recommendation for beginners.

It's not without good reason now since it's that family that's among the most widely used (and hence easiest to find support for). According to http://distrowatch.com/ the most commonly downloaded is actually Mint now (a derivative of Ubuntu with it's own custom interfaces, MATE or Cinnamon). Ubuntu itself is a derivative of Debian (#2). All three members in this extended Debian family have lots of support and offer a wide range of desktop environments to suit one's taste. Generally Debian focuses more on stability, though Ubuntu offers it's LTS (Long Term Support) program as a nod in that direction also. All distros in this Debian family tree use similar package format (.deb) and have a wide range of packages available in the repositories.

Since you seem to have a modern PC you shouldn't have to worry about an extraordinarily light distro like Puppy or CentOS. Given the interrelationships between the #1, 2, and 3 most used modern distros that extended family seems a good place to start. From there, try to choose which of the available DEs is most comfortable (totally up to user preference): standard Gnome, KDE, Ubuntu's custom Unity shell, Mint's custom Cinnamon or MATE, or others. If you want the most stable system possible at the expense of a few bells and whistles, either an LTS or mainstream Debian is a good bet. Any of the distros/sub-distros in this family have official and unofficial support forums.