any distro better than others for c/c++

[dmac257]

I was told

If you really want to learn C/C++, get set up on a Linux box with a full gcc dev system

SO ... I fixed up an old P4 Machine with 2gig ram and 80gig HD to install Linux on. Don't know ANYTHING about Linux yet but installing several distros for evaluation, but a thought occured to me. Is there a particular distro that has this "full gcc dev system" in the initial install or is this something that I will have to install after the OS is up and running on the machine? Is one distro better suited for programming than another?

I appreciate any advice you all can give,
dmac257

[Kloschüssel]

Hi dmac257,

I would say you should buy a book if you want to learn a programming language.

A computer can compile you the code, but unless you write it for good he will fail all the time.

PS: if you happen to test a debian derivate try:

$ apt-get install gcc
$ cat > hello.c
#include <iostream>
 
using namespace std;
int main()
{
	cout << "Hello World!";
}
^D
$ gcc -Wall hello.c -o hello
$ ./hello

Greetings,
D.

[Cabhan]

Pretty much every distribution is fine for programming. Some may require you to install some additional packages after installation, but this really isn't an obstacle.

For you, I would suggest just finding a new-user-friendly distro, and don't worry about anything else. Ubuntu is frequently recommended for this, although there are, of course, others.

If you already have some programming experience, "The C Programming Language" is an excellent book on C programming, and it was written by the inventors of the C language. It can be a bit tough if you don't have any programming experience, though, in which case I'll see if anyone else has suggestions.

[solidsnake.]

A great book I read on C programming is "Absolute Beginner's Guide to C" by Greg Perry. It's for people who haven't touched programming before, though I liked it too.