Installing Python3 on Linux¶
If you are serious about computers and computer science, you need a Linux to play with. Either a native one in partition, or at least a Linux virtual machine. But don’t worry, using Linux is very easy nowadays. In my opinion, Linux is even much simpler and more intuitive (once you get the general ideas) than Windows or Mac. If you have issues mastering your Windows system, then is not just you. Windows is actually difficult to master. Windows is only easy as long as you’re OK with a limited understanding of what’s going on. You should try Linux to see whether it’s a better fit for you.
That being said, the first steps with Linux may be difficult. The strong point of Linux is that there is a philosophy underlying, so when you start getting it, you get it faster. But there is still a learning curve. Of course, nobody knows it before getting introduced to it. But the good news is that I am willing to help you master your system. The only stupid questions are the unasked ones.
This page describes several ways to install Linux:
In a partition of your disk, the prefered way.
- As the Window’s Subsystem Linux <Linux_WSL>, the fastest way to
get a Linux working as a part of you Windows. This is the way to go if you cannot stop using your Windows.
- On an USB stick, if you cannot install anything on
that computer.
Installing Linux in a partition¶
Installing Linux in a partition is the most classical approach. Then, Linux and Windows (or Mac) will share the space on your hard disk, and you’ll have to chose between Linux and Windows when the machine starts. This approach is advised as you get a “real” Linux, with no limitation. If you don’t know which distribution of Linux to chose then pick a Ubuntu. I use Debian myself and many of my friends use Arch Linux or even a venerable Gentoo, but Ubuntu is a good first choice. If you prefer another distribution, then go for it.
Installing Linux is not very complex nowadays. You should find at least 20 Gb on your hard disk, backup all your data, download an iso image of the chosen distribution, burn it on a CD, DVD or USB key, and reboot your machine. The Ubuntu documentation is here. You want to make it simple for the first time, so you just have to follow the instructions of the installer.
But before that, backup your data before installing Linux. The installation is not dangerous if you make it right, but there is no protection. There are some harmful mistakes that you could do in the process.
Installing the Windows’ subsystem Linux (WSL2)¶
The Windows Subsystem Linux is an official extension of Windows, provided by Microsoft, that allows to use unmodified Linux applications on a Windows system. Once installed, you can get almost all of the Linux power on your existing system.
The main drawback compared to an installation in a partition is that both OSes share your resources (CPU, memory), so you can easily turn a nice computer into two laggy machines for advanced uses. But WSL2 remains perfectly OK for the retrogamins project, even with not-so-recent computers.
If your Windows is too old, WSL may not be an option for you. In this case, you could turn to another Virtual Machine instead of the WSL. Unfortunately, these other solutions will probably provide a lesser integration between Linux and Windows, leading to usability difficulties where some mouse and keyboards actions are intercepted by the host OS and thus not possible within the VM. If you are still interested, here is an old but interesting tutorial. If you have a better one, please drop me an email.
Booting Linux from a USB stick¶
If you’re really short on space on your disk (and cannot make any room), then you can install Linux on an USB stick. The advantage is that you can have your Linux always with you, and use it on several computers. The main drawback is that it is very demanding on the USB stick. The cheap sticks that you get as goodies here and there will be slow and break soon, eating all your data! Make sure to use a correct stick, and to regularly backup your data to another location.
ClefAgreg is a very pleasant solution to build such an USB stick (in French only, sorry). This is the technical solution used for the Informatics option of the Maths Agrégation. So it is well tested and very robust, while making it very easy to add new software to the stick.
TAILS is another solution for Live USB Linux. The main goal of that project is not to easily create a development environment, but it still offers all the features that we need, with a persistent storage on the USB stick, and the ability to add extra softwares to the system (although less efficiently than ClefAgreg). It seems to be more active and maybe better maintained.
But I cannot tell for sure: I have a real Linux partition and don’t use such solution very often.