Choosing a distro
 

Hello, I've been using Linux Mint Cinnamon for close to two and a half years now. I want to switch to either Arch Linux or Manjaro, and am wondering which one to choose. I am learning Python at the moment and I also want to learn C#. Which of these three distros is best for developers?

It is more or less irrelevant. Almost every distro is the same from this point of view - although I do not really suggest you to learn C# on linux.

OP: as pan64 said, the distro doesn't matter - they can all do the same thing with regards to development. C# is a Microsoft language. I have no idea how you would even approach developing code using a tool designed for another OS.

As an Arch user, I am going to say Arch but Manjaro is probably OK, it is just not Arch. It is "based" on Arch but they are very different. Arch lets you build the system your way and is lean and fast. You do have to do everything yourself though: there is no installer and none are recommended. Following the wiki is the only supported method of install. All other guide are outdated and/or wrong. It typically takes me less than 30 minutes to install Arch on my desktop PC (not a laptop).

Manjaro has a point and click installer so you probably know how those work.

Manjaro has an installer, Arch does not. However both are rolling. Mint isn't the most ideal distro for development, but personally I think a stable os works better for it than a rolling distro. That's my experience anyways.

I have a dual boot laptop with Windows 10 and Mint, so I can learn C# on Windows. Have you tried Mint Debbie?

I haven't used Mint in 5 years at least so can't comment. I am more of a minimalist and tend to use distros like Arch and Gentoo, or not use Linux at all and use FreeBSD. I am back on Arch now because of Steam though.

I'm currently using Mint 19.3 on one of my pc's. Haven't tried the debian based version of Mint yet. However I have used and really liked other debian based OSes like MX and antiX.

Almost any distro should work well for python programming. For the most part I tinker with C++ and I really prefer lightweight distros for that. I also create mobile web apps with Html5/JS/CSS so I keep a Ubuntu based distro around since it's well supported by most SDKs/Emulators.

Is there any particular reason to switch away from Mint?

Yes, it's really boring

Do you want to spend more time coding python and C#, or do you want to spend more time installing & maintaining your OS?
If the first, then choose something preconfigured, e.g. Ubuntu.
If the last, use something not preconfigured, e.g. Arch Linux.

Sometimes that's a good thing ;) However I know exactly what your talking about. I distrohopped quite a bit, including building a custom distro for personal use via the LFS platform.

My advice is just start downloading ISOs for the distros that appeal to you. Then live boot to them and mess with them. Sooner or later you'll find "the" one for you.

Let us know what you decide on.

You're learning C#? Isn't that 100% Microsoft? I get it that you can do .NET programming, I've just never heard of that applying to anything but Microsoft. I feel that all distros support Python very well, so no recommendations there.To each their own. I've also distro hopped a bit and have built straight from buildroot for embedded targets.

I don't want to wrestle with my desktop. So I use what I use and do not look to modify that greatly.

I've seen thread questions involving certain distros so I've loaded them as VMs and used them to answer the questions. Seeing the desktop experience I didn't really find any amazing differences. Again, this is personal preference, but my opinion is that if you're making your desktop more important than the specific technologies you are trying to learn or work with, then I feel the priorities are swapped.

If it's all just preference, then fine. MillJ actually has a sticky thread related to selecting distributions in the Newbie forum. And I agree with their premise to use live boots to check out what you'd like.

I've used Mandrake long ago. I felt it was very similar to SUSE and also what Mint MATE is like now.

I tried Arch once and I honestly forget the experience, which tells me I didn't prefer it.

Hope you find one that you deem to be suitable.

You can compile C# apps on Linux using Mono. You can build GUI apps on Linux using MonoDevelop and Winforms. C# is not a native Linux programming language but it is compatible with Linux. Easier than C++, though.
MonoDevelop.

Stick with a base distro: Arch, Debian, Fedora/CentOS, Gentoo, Slackware, openSUSE. I personally prefer Slackware and openSUSE.

You might check out Endeavouros. It is much closer to a vanilla Arch daily experience than Manjaro, but with an easy installer, a few nice custom tools, and a very friendly forum. Then you can better decide if Arch is of more interest to you.

Out of those, I would seriously not consider Arch, Gentoo or Slackware as distros for a beginner (as OP has implied.)

That being said, why not Ubuntu for software development?

Visual Studio Code (if you can get past the ick factor of having anything Microsoft-related on your system) is a very well-thought-out and pleasing IDE for which I do believe C# extensions are available. Jupyter Notebook is available via snap, and Anaconda is installable via pip.

Ubuntu may not be a "base" distro in the truest sense of the word - it being a fork of Debian - but it's more likely to make someone who is coming from LM feel at home.

That's a good point. Ubuntu is very popular with developers, and the tools are all readily available. Plus, the support network is top-notch.

However, if he is bored with Mint, he may very soon become bored with Ubuntu as well, haha. Gentoo is GUARANTEED to spice up your life! :D

At first I wanted to switch to Ubuntu, but then I started looking online for other alternatives and there is a lot of conflicting information. Right now I have limited bandwith, but in a few days I will have DSL and will by then decide which distro to download. Thank you all for the helpful information

In my experience Ubuntu MATE is the money distro in the Ubuntu family: fast, stable, solid, great configuration options, etc. openSUSE has been my go-to lately, however, with Xfce desktop.

Are those the only base distros available, or are there more? If so, which ones are the other base distros?

That's pretty much it. There are a few independents such as Solus, Void, and CRUX, but everything is more or less based on the ones I listed. For more info, go to Distrowatch.

I tried Manjaro but didn't like it. After updating it froze after grub. I reinstalled it and it started freezing on the login screen. I chose Ubuntu 18.04 and am using it without a problem.

EndeavourOS is a easy way to use Arch. It installs as easy as Manjaro