[Haifux] advanced of programming in Linux

[Orna Agmon Ben-Yehuda]

I think the strong point is "The Unix Way", which is a mix and match of
tools, each good at doing a specific thing, by using shell , pipe and make.
Linux did not invent "The Unix Way", but like other FOSS, it provides more
options for the mix and match. Indeed many Unix systems are closed source,
and the Unix Way works there, too (better than it would work on Windows, I
expect).

A point specific to Linux and Intel/AMD is valgrind, with which I nowadays
solve memory issues within seconds of programmer time. Solving similar
problems before I had Linux took me weeks sometimes (for a code I was not
familiar with, of tens of thousands of lines), and sometimes I just gave up.

On Mon, Nov 2, 2009 at 11:16 AM, Vadim Eisenberg
<vadim.eisenberg at gmail.com>wrote:

>  I would like to present some points of a devil's advocate (some smart
> students can raise these counterclaims during the lecture) :
>
> 1.       You can run batch files also on Windows (it for sure is less
> convenient than shell scripts on Unix, but it is not impossible)
>
> 2.       You can use Ant instead of makefile (it is also less convenient
> than makefile + shell scripts, but is still possible)
>
> 3.       You can use Perl on Windows
>
> 4.       UNIX remark: I guess all the tools you mention pertain to Unix
> also, so in general you provide points for learning Unix tools, not
> necessary Linux ones. In particular, you probably can use them on cygwin on
> Windows.
>
>
>
> In general, my suspicion is that anything you can do in Unix, you can do
> also in Windows,  but in a less convenient/less productive way.
>
>
>
> I hope not to make anybody here angry by providing such heretic remarks.
>
>
>
> Regards,
>
> Vadim
>
>
>
> *From:* haifux-bounces at haifux.org [mailto:haifux-bounces at haifux.org] *On
> Behalf Of *Orna Agmon Ben-Yehuda
> *Sent:* Monday, November 02, 2009 10:51 AM
> *To:* Shahar Dag
> *Cc:* Haifux
> *Subject:* Re: [Haifux] advanced of programming in Linux
>
>
>
> I often see people spending approximately an hour each time, trying to
> understand why their change was not included in the executable. The answer
> is usually - because they forgot to insert the source into the list of
> sources in the makefile. When I show them how to automatically create a list
> of sources and compile them all, with the correct dependencies, the problem
> is forever solved.
>
> I use a makefile to build Haifux's site automatically in two languages,
> while compiling lists of lectures in different pages.
>
> I use make to properly build latex files, including the second pass
> required for bibtex.
>
> I use make ,diff, head to create automatic tests (regression tests) for
> various programs, compare them automatically with previous results, and
> produce a report of added capabilities, lost capabilities, changes requiring
> the attention of a professional.
>
> I use make and perl to create parametric sweep runs (batch runs with
> different input parameters in each run). I specifically use here the
> inherent quality of make, to work according to the date of targets, so that
> if the parametric sweep was disturbed in the middle, only runs older than
> the executable and input file are re-run.
>
> 2009/11/1 Shahar Dag <dag at cs.technion.ac.il>
>
> Hello
>
>
>
> To extent Elli's question:
>
> We try to convince our students that programming on Linux is easier /
> faster relative to Windows, so they better learn how to work with Linux.
>
>
>
> We claim that using the build in shell commands and pipes we can compose a
> solution for complex problem (almost) without programming.
>
>
>
> Can you point us for real life examples that prove our claims?
>
>
>
> Thanks in advanced
>
> Shahar Dag
> System & Software Development Laboratory (SSDL)
> Computer Science Department
> Technion - Israel Institute of Technology
> Haifa, Israel
> Tel. 972-4-829-4880
> Fax 972-4-829-4878
>
>
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>
>
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