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Transitioning From Windows to Linux Development? 59

Posted by Cliff from the playing-in-a-different-court dept.
truthsearch asks: "I've been a professional Visual Basic developer for 6 years, working on two and three tier systems and also web applications. Two years ago I tried Linux and went from being a fan of Windows to an aspiring developer of Linux (or at least Unix) applications. My company has just announced their complete acceptance of moving everyone to .NET and so I want to leave ASAP. I'm even willing to take a pay cut to leave Microsoft software development. So if I were to not contribute to OSS or take time off to get my masters (in CS of course), what's the best way to transition from professional Microsoft platform development to Linux? Are many companies hiring Microsoft developers with little Linux experience to assist in corporate migration? With online postings requiring 3-5 years Linux/C++/Java experience how's a Windows developer supposed to transition? Is my only solution to stick it out here while I contribute to OSS for the experience?"
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Transitioning From Windows to Linux Development? More

Transitioning From Windows to Linux Development?

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  • I've been a professional Visual Basic developer for 6 years, working on two and three tier systems and also web applications.

    Man I feel sorry for you, their gonna have a field day with this one. b

    • I'm a professional VB (and recently VB.NET) developer for a long time too, it's not that bad. Honestly.
  • A couple years ago, i submitted a few patches for linux bugs, a couple of which were accepted, and my name wnet into the changelogs.

    I had to stop counting all the cold-call (or cold email) job offers i got from that to be a linux developer for some company or other. Of course, this was back in the go-go years, when companies spent millions of dollars on sock puppets, but i still get one or two job interview offers a month to be a "linux programmer."

  • I would reccomend learning something like Java because of it's cross-platform abilities which would mean that a transition from windows to linux would be much easier.

    The other option is to get books, lots and lots of books on Linux C++ programming.

  • Experience (Score:2, Insightful)

    by PFAK ( 524350 )
    You answered your question yourself. Get experience with working OSS software, code some stuff. Submit some patches to either the FreeBSD or Linux kernel, and you should be set.

    Just make sure that you keep up to date, even if you have to learn C# (.NET), it'll be still good on your resume. Heck, theres C# library's for UNIX now, if you have been reading slashdot.

    And, I'd recommend keeping your current job, once you have sufficent knowledge. Then go looking for another one.

  • Same as elsewhere ... network network network... (Score:5, Insightful)

    by metacosm ( 45796 ) on Wednesday November 27, 2002 @11:36PM (#4772499)
    Questions:

    #1. Do you want to work on OSS systems and with OSS toolkits (writing a web application in PHP running on Redhat 8.0 and Apache 2.0) or do you want to write OSS code (writing a web application licensed under [BSD | GPL]).
    If your goal is to write software licensed under an open-source license, you will have a large uphill battle to find work.

    #2. Are you sure your newfound passion is worth giving up your job over in this economy? Better to write windows code during the day, so you can afford to write linux code at night.
    Slowly ebbing into linux is a good way to go, it will let you built up an understanding and ensure you are set on this decision.

    Recommendations:

    If you really want to break into the OSS software development market, you need to bear in mind a few things.

    #1. It is like any other market, your network of personal relationships you have developed over the past six years will be your basis, where you start looking. As always the buddy-network is the best possible way to find a job you might actually enjoy.

    #2. OSS is often as much about community as software, get involved. The best place to probably get involved is your local LUG. At you LUG you have a chance to meet like minded individuals.

    #3. Write some code that has your name on it, so that when asked to produce demos/examples of your work you can show them your (GPL | BSD) licensed code. If you write software that happens to help your local LUG you get a bonus point.

    #4. Remember that you might be able to create a new job, rather than fill an existing opening. Converting a company to linux, and developing new systems is a large task for even a small (100-200 employees) business. But a rewarding one.

  • With Borland Delphi/Kylix [borland.com], you can

    Create any kind of multiplatform (windows/linux) apps.

    Use a WAY better RAD tool than VB (I used VB for a while).

    Learn and use a full-featured OO language.

    As a bonus, you can even generate .NET applications, if you need.

    I use it since its first version (well, since Turbo Pascal 3.0, actually), and, altough it's not the tool I use most in daily job (I deal with Macs a lot), it's simply the best RAD tool I've seen. Try a free download. After all, you're the kind of guy they're targeting [borland.com] now.


    • The best thing about Delphi/Kylix is that you can dabble in Linux, and still use it to pay the bills.

      Aside, Kylix programs work wonderfully in FreeBSD with FreeBSD's Linux compatibility layer.

      • "The best thing about Delphi/Kylix is that you can dabble in Linux, and still use it to pay the bills"

        One interesting thing happened to me regarding this. In a small TV, we created a news system. Its clients, inside the company, uses a Windows front-end writen in Delphi; To the web, we simply recompiled the data abstraction layer and created some small formating code and we had a full-featured apache-linux webserver app, with little effort.

        If the folks at borland at least port this thing to the MAC... ;-)
        • Its clients, inside the company, uses a Windows front-end writen in Delphi; To the web, we simply recompiled the data abstraction layer and created some small formating code and we had a full-featured apache-linux webserver app, with little effort.

          Fun stuff...

          The nastiest trick I've done with Deplhi/Kylix is that I was tired of buggy Windows workstations making my app look bad, so I put the front-end of the app on a FreeBSD server and shared the app with VNC. So any computer that has a VNC viewer: Apple, Windows, Be - you name it, can use the app. And if the workstations crashes, the app is waiting them where they left off.

          I too would love for native Mac support.
    • I agree that Delphi and Kylix are the way to go. Also, what hasn't been mentioned yet is that the language itself is relatively painless to learn for VB programmers. This should make it possible for our intrepid VB programmer to pick up the basics and move on before the .Net move at his current company becomes a serious problem.

      Any VB programmer who worked with version 4 will crack open Delphi and Kylix and think, "Wow, I've seen this before!" It's a very comfortable transition.

      I use all three.

      trane

    • Qt from trolltech (www.trolltech.com) is a better solution (IMHO).

      • Qt uses C++ (but is available for other languages). C++ is far more common than Borland's Pascal derivate that Delphi/Kylix uses.
      • QtDesigned is a great RAD tool, but it does not force you to use it. You can write (or insert) lots of code from the outside without any problems.
      • For cross platform apps, simply buy the full version and you can do Unix/X11, Win32 and MaxOS X with one source.
      • Qt is not only a GUI tool, but a collection of cross platform classes for: sockets, filesystem interaction, database access and much more.

      If you feel like trying it, just go to trolltech and download the free edition.

      • You might want to check out Borland's site first for info on Kylix. Mainly because:

        Kylix uses QT for it's widgets.

        The current version of Kylix supports both Delphi and C++ development.

        There is a free 'Open' version that has a limited number of components but allows you get a good feel for the product without cost. (Anything generated with the Open version falls under GPL, though).

      • Hmm.. I don't think you've tried Borland tools for quite some time.

        Kylix gives you:
        Just-in-time compiling so you can modify your code whilst debugging.

        A far better syntax for even-handeling.

        A seriously good RAD UI. you havn't seen rad till you've used Kylix/CBuilder &co.

        Type sensitive code compleation.

        Good ANSI compliance.

        Cross platform development (including mobile devices)

        the list goes on.....

        I do like QT and I use it a lot but Borlands tools are the best.

  • NOW you're leaving? (Score:4, Funny)

    by uradu ( 10768 ) on Wednesday November 27, 2002 @11:45PM (#4772548)
    > moving everyone to .NET and so I want to leave ASAP

    So you stuck it out with crappy VB6 all these years for the sheer enjoyment of it, and now that they're finally moving to a half-way decent platform, you're bailing?

  • MONO (Score:3, Interesting)

    by MrBlack ( 104657 ) on Wednesday November 27, 2002 @11:49PM (#4772576)
    Just because your employer is moving to .NET doesn't mean you can't do some development on Linux using MONO. It seems ironic to me that in may ways .NET un-shackles windows developers from the windows platform more than previous Microsoft development technologies did.

    Also, why not try and affect change from within your own company, rather than going somewhere else? If there is an existing open equivalent to something you're thinking of using then make the case for that. Also investigate languages like Java, Python and Perl which can run on multiple platforms. They all have large developer communities and mature libraries for doing lots of different things.
    • .NET unshackles developers from MS Windows as long as they stick to the features that can be implemented on other platforms.

      One thing you are probably never going to see with Mono, DotGnu(sp?), et al. is a compatible implementation of COM+ which MS has thrown into .NET for talking to legacy win32 components/libraries/applications. If you need to use such features with .NET -- you are going to be developing and deploying on Windows (at least the service part will need to be).
      • AFAIK COM+ AKA enterprise services aren't so much about interop with COM, but more about providing "enterprise services" like queing, transactional objects etc (more analogous to certain parts of J2EE). .NET interoperates with COM by way of a COM callable wrapper. In order for a .NET assembly to interoperate with a COM component (under normal circumstances, forgetting about remoting and DCOM for the minute) the COM component would have to be installed and run on the host OS. So I guess you could say we would probably see .NET/COM interop in MONO when we see COM for Linux (hey, isn't that what BONOBO is...).

        Side note: I heard the marketroids at M$ were thinking about calling .NET COM+ 2, now wouldn't _THAT_ have been a good name.

  • .Net (Score:3, Insightful)

    by the eric conspiracy ( 20178 ) on Wednesday November 27, 2002 @11:56PM (#4772618)
    It would seem to me that sticking out the transition to .Net and working on Linux on the side would be the best way to make the transition.

    With .Net, your VB skills are soon going to be hard to market, and you don't have any real Linux skills just yet.

    If you stick it out, you will have a much better skillset to show the market.

    • I second that..

      One possible future for linux happens to be one where .NET plays a significant role. Even if it doesn't, a lot of what you learn about .NET is relevant to java developement as well.

      Just try to move to C# instead of VB.NET if you can.. The learning curve is quite similar. Despite both languages being roughly equivalent, I suspect prospective employers will be more impressed by the former for historical reasons.

      That and C# is likely going to be the first and best supported .NET language on linux. There are several C# compiler in the work for linux but I haven't heard of anybody working on a vb.net one just yet.

    • If you stick with your current job, take the opportunity to really learn OO programming. VB6 was never really OO. .NET is very OO. A good base in OOD, OOP and, say, C# would be a good platform to use to build skills in Java, and then you're on your way.

  • .NET (Score:3, Informative)

    by droyad ( 412569 ) on Thursday November 28, 2002 @12:15AM (#4772719)
    Why run from .NET? Pretty soon* you can develop in .NET for the linux plaform

    *I am aware that it is already working, but it's not quite there yet

  • Find a place that does Unix Development (Score:3, Interesting)

    by PaddyM ( 45763 ) on Thursday November 28, 2002 @12:33AM (#4772787) Homepage
    I'm not sure how you'd do that other than ask. I work for Lockheed Martin Air Traffic Management. We do unix development, and in fact as part of a leadership development program, I'm currently working on porting a Windows-based testing app to cross-platform (read: Java GUI and ANSI C backends on Linux). I'm not sure how much we're hiring, but it certainly isn't obvious from the job description (Software Engineering) that you could end up doing development in linux.
  • A serious question: How can someone really consider themselves a professional programmer - particular one that's been coding for 6 years - but has stuck to one language and one OS.

    I'm not trolling, just thinking from an employers point of view. Wouldn't you be suspicious of someone who doesn't branch out a little more? I personally would wonder where there motivation and proffesional curiosity is.. Or do employers like that sort of thing?

    • A serious question: How can someone really consider themselves a professional programmer - particular one that's been coding for 6 years - but has stuck to one language and one OS.

      That depends on your point of view, I guess.

      I've been a full-time professional developer for around four years, and I've used predominantly C++ on MS Windows in that time. Sure, I've also used C and assembler skills in significant amounts along the way, I've picked up enough of things like Java and Perl to be useful, and I have a side interest in several other tools and languages as well. The current project I'm working on runs on about 15 different platforms, too.

      I'd still probably describe myself as a C++ programmer who works with Windows as a one-line summary, though.

    • Re:Professional Programmer (Score:1, Interesting)

      by Anonymous Coward
      Maybe after 6 years he knows what he's talking about. Expertise is worth money. Personally, I strive for it. I worked with a man who worked with the same system all his working life. He built the OS and designed the programming language used to control it. If you made a mobile phone call during the 1990s there was a 50% chance you used that system. I am happy to refer to him as a professional programmer.
  • A lot of development these days does not require very much OS specific development. C# is actually an elegant language from what I've seen, and has a lot of similarites (and even improvements IMO) to java. The .net framework also seems to mirror many of the java frameworks. Perhaps your best bet is to take the opportunity your company is giving you to learn C# and .NET - and use that as your transition. Being a c++ unix developer, it seems to me that there are a lot more Java/J2EE or C#/.net jobs out there than platform specific c++ positions (much to my dismay :). Take on linux as a pet project, it doesn't need to be your career.
  • There are a ton of cross-platform tools that will let you develop for Windows and Linux platforms. Personally, I use wxWindows [wxwindows.org], but you should also look at Kylix, QT, MONO, etc.
  • Can I have the job your leaving? I'll take a pay cut, but not because I love MS, but because I like to eat and stay in warm places.
  • Read aloud the passages here here [gnu.org]and don't be despondant my son. Saint Ignucius hath provided fo thou.

  • C# (Score:1)

    by Bri3D ( 584578 )
    Keep ypur job, learn C#.net, then quit and transition to Linux, which has C# libs, etc.
  • I've been professionally writing Unix/Linux code for over 10 years, and also have written a lot of OSS. And I've been unemployed for nearly 4 months. That experience doesn't seem to be doing me much good at the moment.

    It seems like the main jobs I see now are either for Window programmers (esp. .NET), or for Java with database experience. So stay where you are so you can get the .NET experience, and join an open-source project for fun. You'll have the best of both worlds (and believe me, ANY tech. job is better than no job).
  • You can't learn new system, especially a superior one, by using tools that are from your old system -- even if they are developed recently. To learn Unix you need to study its design, tools and techniques, not use some monstrosity made to support applications made for Windows under Unix. So forget about Mono, Winelib and Java, learn C (plain C, by K&R book), networking (by UNP book), write something, participate in the development of something that you need, and then you will be able to choose what to do next.

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