Recent

Author Topic: Which distro will you recommend?  (Read 16021 times)

mig-31

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 305
Re: Which distro will you recommend?
« Reply #15 on: October 25, 2017, 10:57:55 am »
Hi,

1. At home I use Mageia6 with KDE Plasma 5 desktop for a long time.
    I don't have any problem with Lazarus/FPC instalation from rpm packages taken from Lazarus web site and with NVidia drivers for a long time.
    In case of NVidia drivers, it is not a problem for me to install it from official NVidia instalation package. You should know that NVidia driver doesn't support KVM and you should disable it manually by editing kernel boot parameters on GRUB menu or grub in configuration file on some distro, when you switch from Noveua to NVidia driver. It describes in Errata.

HOME PC: Intel Corei3-4160 Haswell 3.6GHz, 4GB RAM, Nvidia GeForce 760GTX 1GB RAM

2. At work I use CentOS7 KDE4 now, because I work with National Instruments DAQ cards very offen.
   No problems with Lazarus/FPC instalation from rpm packages taken from Lazarus web site.
   
Development  PC: Intel Core i5-3570 Ivy Bridge 3.4GHz, 4GB RAM,  Intel® HD Graphics 2500.
   
I think, now there is no big difference between different distros, +- same kernel, same main software (difference only in version), except some additional configuration tools like YAST in SUSE or MCC in Mageia and PC OS Linux. It is only about a stability, in past for example KUBUNTU: when new UBUNTU version comes, they add last "stable" KDE to it without any deep testing.

I think today there is no big troubles with drivers in Linux, except some cheap web cameras, tv tuners "made in CHINA" or with very special hardware. I never have had any WATCOM device, but I read it supported under Linux and needed sometimes addition configuration on X11 input or in KDE Plasma there is a configuration GUI tool in system setting.
Lazarus 2.2.6 - OpenSuse Leap 15.4, Mageia 8, CentOS 7

JuhaManninen

  • Global Moderator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 4459
  • I like bugs.
Re: Which distro will you recommend?
« Reply #16 on: October 25, 2017, 12:09:28 pm »
Yesterday I tried to upgrade my Ubuntu Mate 17.04 to 17.10. I downloaded the iso file, burn it to a disc and tried to upgrade. What, the option for upgrade is grayed! I can only instal it as a new OS, it wasted my time for download. Usually I upgrade my Ubuntu using the upgrade tool not from a CD/DVD ROM. I never knew I can't upgrade from disc. >:(
That is typical with non-rolling distros. Fortunately things have advanced in the past 20 years and we have better options.

Quote
My computer is not very high-end, but I want the OS that can support my NVidia Geforce 430 and Wacom tablet. It should has good userbase and documentation, so I can easily find answers if I ever have problem. And of course, it must be Lazarus friendly. :)
What Linux do you use? Which one will you recommend me? And why?
Short answer: a rolling distro that has the latest versions of SW, including FPC and Lazarus.

Longer answer: Most popular mainstream distros are stable and work well except for 2 situations:

1. Installing a latest version of SW you are interested in. You must either by-pass the distro package system or use 3rd party packages which have a big chance to break things. At least I screwed up my Xubuntu although I can use Linux relatively well.

2. Updating the whole OS. Error-prone and frustrating as you indicated above.

Rolling distros solve both those problems! They are amazingly stable, too, at least the Arch derivatives I know of.

Come on, Ubuntu is Ubuntu for a reason, is the most reliable and stable distribution.
I doubt. Do you have some scientific data to back that up?
BTW, Ubuntu has dropped to nro 4. in DistroWatch popularity list. Antergos is about to pass it and it will drop to nro 5. ... for a reason!
I guess many Ubuntu users made their distro choice some 15 years ago when Ubuntu was new and cool, then stopped following the advancements made in other distros.
A good part in Ubuntu was a nice netinstall image that fitted in a CD and could be used for old i386 machines ... but now they dropped support for i386. WTF!

Quote
The problem is that the debs are low quality and they interfere with the one shipped by Ubuntu, it is a versioning problem..  You should use fpcupdeluxe and that's it, it will work great and Lazarus installed by it will not interfere with the one shipped or installed from debs.
FpcupDeluxe is an advanced geeky tool, not meant for "normal" installations. If you must use it to get FPC/Lazarus into Ubuntu, then Ubuntu clearly is not good for FPC/Lazarus users.
The .deb packages provided by Lazarus project are good and valid but they are for Debian, not for Ubuntu.
« Last Edit: October 25, 2017, 12:37:28 pm by JuhaManninen »
Mostly Lazarus trunk and FPC 3.2 on Manjaro Linux 64-bit.

mdalacu

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 233
    • dmSimpleApps
Re: Which distro will you recommend?
« Reply #17 on: October 25, 2017, 01:11:36 pm »
I just checked and in Ubuntu 17.10 Lazarus 1.8 rc4 is already available, just use:
Code: Pascal  [Select][+][-]
  1. sudo apt install lazarus
And i see the maintainer is :
Original-Maintainer: Pascal Packaging Team <pkg-pascal-devel@lists.alioth.debian.org>, so Debian.

JuhaManninen

  • Global Moderator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 4459
  • I like bugs.
Re: Which distro will you recommend?
« Reply #18 on: October 25, 2017, 01:20:42 pm »
I just checked and in Ubuntu 17.10 Lazarus 1.8 rc4 is already available, just use:
Code: Pascal  [Select][+][-]
  1. sudo apt install lazarus
And i see the maintainer is :
Original-Maintainer: Pascal Packaging Team <pkg-pascal-devel@lists.alioth.debian.org>, so Debian.
Ok, that is more recent than I expected. I remember they used to have old versions of Lazarus.
Mostly Lazarus trunk and FPC 3.2 on Manjaro Linux 64-bit.

soerensen3

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 213
Re: Which distro will you recommend?
« Reply #19 on: October 25, 2017, 10:43:59 pm »
Quote
Ok, that is more recent than I expected. I remember they used to have old versions of Lazarus.

Ubuntu does not necessarily have old versions but usually they have a release and every version of a package is not being updated for that release unless there is a good reason, like security issues or a bug which makes the software unusable. 17.10 was only released this month so it has RC4. It will probably not get updated until 18.04 (I don't know if that's also true for release candidates, it might get updatet to 1.8 final but Lazarus 1.10 will most likely not come to 17.10.
Lazarus 1.9 with FPC 3.0.4
Target: Manjaro Linux 64 Bit (4.9.68-1-MANJARO)

mdalacu

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 233
    • dmSimpleApps
Re: Which distro will you recommend?
« Reply #20 on: October 26, 2017, 08:12:42 am »
Quote
Ubuntu does not necessarily have old versions but usually they have a release and every version of a package is not being updated for that release unless there is a good reason, like security issues or a bug which makes the software unusable. 17.10 was only released this month so it has RC4. It will probably not get updated until 18.04 (I don't know if that's also true for release candidates, it might get updatet to 1.8 final but Lazarus 1.10 will most likely not come to 17.10.
Yes, than you can install the deb files from Lazarus site if a newer version appears and as long as the version is correctly set in the deb package.

avra

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 2514
    • Additional info
Re: Which distro will you recommend?
« Reply #21 on: October 26, 2017, 11:46:01 am »
Come on, Ubuntu is Ubuntu for a reason, is the most reliable and stable distribution.
Very bold claim, knowing that Ubuntu is not based on Debian stable, but on Debian Testing and Debian Unstable.

I think, now there is no big difference between different distros, +- same kernel, same main software (difference only in version), except some additional configuration tools like YAST in SUSE or MCC in Mageia and PC OS Linux.
When you have a specific configuration there might be a big difference between distros, even when they have the same kernel. You can read example experience regarding one Apollo Lake motherboard here:
https://forum.lazarus.freepascal.org/index.php/topic,37916.msg261909.html#msg261909
ct2laz - Conversion between Lazarus and CodeTyphon
bithelpers - Bit manipulation for standard types
pasettimino - Siemens S7 PLC lib

mai

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 133
  • truther
Re: Which distro will you recommend?
« Reply #22 on: October 28, 2017, 01:54:55 pm »
netrunner rolling

munair

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 798
  • compiler developer @SharpBASIC
    • SharpBASIC
Re: Which distro will you recommend?
« Reply #23 on: October 28, 2017, 02:56:23 pm »
A less well-known but Swiss-knife distro is MX-Linux (https://mxlinux.org/) It is based on Debian Stable and currently at version 16.1 based on Debian 8. They are working on version 17 based on Debian 9.

I have programmed for years on Debian Stable (since version 6) and never had any stability issues. The advantage of MX Linux is that it allows you to do things that Debian itself lacks out of the box. It comes with a heavily modified XFCE desktop, so it is pretty light-weight and pretty responsive.

I recently installed MX Linux on a friend's 11 years old Dell computer. Works like a charm.
« Last Edit: October 28, 2017, 04:22:03 pm by Munair »
keep it simple

mai

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 133
  • truther
Re: Which distro will you recommend?
« Reply #24 on: October 28, 2017, 03:17:46 pm »
Today I'm going to delete MX from my main disk.

The MX Forum is complete junk. the packs are outdated.

yes, MX is the easiest distro to remaster and "copy" from disk USB-thumbdrive and reverse and back-and-forth.

but that's it. their forum is about the worst ever.

munair

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 798
  • compiler developer @SharpBASIC
    • SharpBASIC
Re: Which distro will you recommend?
« Reply #25 on: October 28, 2017, 03:48:29 pm »
Today I'm going to delete MX from my main disk.

The MX Forum is complete junk. the packs are outdated.

yes, MX is the easiest distro to remaster and "copy" from disk USB-thumbdrive and reverse and back-and-forth.

but that's it. their forum is about the worst ever.
A forum's quality shouldn't hold you back from using a good distro. The packages are 'outdated' as much as Debian's are, as it is based on Debian Stable. As I said, they're currently working on MX Linux 17 which brings in Linux kernel 4.9 and a lot of updated packages.

But if one prefers the latest cutting edge of packages, a rolling release would be the way to go at the cost of stability. At least, that's my experience based on several years.

MX Linux does not just come with a remastering tool. There are several extra tools that will make life easier on a Debian based distro. Here is a good review including comments for anyone seriously interested: http://linuxblog.darkduck.com/2017/02/mx-16-xfce-very-close-to-ideal.html
keep it simple

Handoko

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 5131
  • My goal: build my own game engine using Lazarus
Re: Which distro will you recommend?
« Reply #26 on: November 01, 2017, 04:43:47 pm »
Thank you for all the recommendations.

Because lots people suggested Manjaro, so I tried Manjaro XFCE. Unfortunately, the live cd can't boot on my computer. I waited very long but it just busy doing some weird things, I guess it had problem with my graphics card, you can see the pictures below. I tried both the free and non-free drivers, it gave different result but the live cd just can't start properly.

Ubuntu Mate isn't too bad, it has some minor issues but I can live with it. The default open source Nouveau driver has no problem with my VGA, but it is not optimized for performance. After Ubuntu Mate finished the installation I can easily to use NVidia proprietary drivers via Ubuntu's build in tool "Additional Drivers". I chose the latest nvidia-384 but it failed, but it was easy to restart to use the open source driver provided by Ubuntu again. After several tests I found that nvidia-304 works good with my Geforce 430.

Now, my computer is working good with Ubuntu Mate 17.10. Unfortunately, this version has many bugs. The most annoying are the key repeating is not working correctly and multiple selection using mouse drag are buggy on desktop and on File Manager. I googled the web, these issues already reported but still not fixed yet. Ubuntu is losing its users, not for now but I think next year I will not use Ubuntu. I still keep using Ubuntu now because currently most other distros are not compatible with my graphics card.

munair

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 798
  • compiler developer @SharpBASIC
    • SharpBASIC
Re: Which distro will you recommend?
« Reply #27 on: November 01, 2017, 05:05:10 pm »
Have you tried MX Linux? It has the XFCE desktop by default and is based on Debian stable but packed with tools that makes life easier on Linux. By the end of the year version 17 is supposed to come out based on Debian 9.

As I said earlier, I installed it on an old Dell computer from 2006 and it runs like a charm. Pretty light-weight and stable. Definitely worth a try.

https://mxlinux.org/
keep it simple

Handoko

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 5131
  • My goal: build my own game engine using Lazarus
Re: Which distro will you recommend?
« Reply #28 on: November 01, 2017, 05:18:08 pm »
I have not. The whole process will take hours, from download, burn it to a disc, instal and installing drivers. My graphics card is not very common, even on Ubuntu it's also a bit tricky to install. I know this driver problem is a kernel issue not distro issue. The great thing about Ubuntu is it can easily boot to safe mode and it will use the open source driver as default so I have chances to fix the problem.

Other distros will have this VGA issue too. Maybe it can be easily solved as on Ubuntu but because the process to try new distro takes a long time and my VGA is relative new for Linux so I won't do it now. Maybe next year.

Anyway, thank you for the suggestion.

Thaddy

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 14205
  • Probably until I exterminate Putin.
Re: Which distro will you recommend?
« Reply #29 on: November 01, 2017, 06:07:52 pm »
Currently, VGA is simulated.... has been for as long as you are old.....
Specialize a type, not a var.

 

TinyPortal © 2005-2018