[GRASSLIST:8887] Re: Off Topic (Somewhat): Most commonly supported Linux Distro for Gr ass usage?

[Dylan Beaudette]

Eric,

I would like to second the Debian suggestion. I have had great luck 
both with installing pre-compiled binaries for Debian, and compiling 
the latest CVS from source. If you want a real quick install I would 
recommend Ubuntu or Kubuntu, as they are based on Debian, and 
self-configuring.

Cheers,

Dylan

On Nov 4, 2005, at 4:09 AM, Patton, Eric wrote:

> This is somewhat off-topic, I apologize. I am seriously considering
> partitioning my hard drive to be able to run Linux on my workstation. 
> Can
> anyone who has done this recommend the 'best' method (i.e., least 
> likely to
> destroy my hard drive) of doing this? Partition Magic seems to get high
> scores when Googled. But I would prefer using an open-source tool for 
> doing
> this, I'm just apprehensive about software stability.
>
> Secondly, I was wondering what flavor of Linux is (I hate using the 
> word
> best, because everyone has their own preferences, not trying to start a
> flame war) optimal for using Grass. I should rephrase that - which 
> Linux
> flavor is the most supported, if that question even makes sense. Or, 
> which
> version do the developers and other old hands use?
>
> I want to be able to do away with Cygwin altogether and be able to
> download/compile the latest cvs releases. Aside from trying out the 
> latest
> and greatest, I want to help out with some Grass documentation (most 
> likely
> man pages - am I crazy ;^)  ? ), and to do this I'll need to have the 
> latest
> programs. I know from reading the messages in this list that there 
> have been
> many improvements made since Sept 2, the date of my Cygwin binary.
> Additionally, I want to be able to utilize the full potential of QGIS 
> (Grass
> plugins don't exist on windows version of QGIS), so it only makes 
> sense to
> use the OS with the more robust tools. And it just would be really
> refreshing to get out from under the M$ thumb.
>
> I'm aware that before partitioning I need to backup all my files - we 
> have a
> 1TB drive for this - and I've been tarring and zipping for about a 
> week now.
> Tedious, but necessary. I will probably try out partitioning my home PC
> first (as I don't really have too much worth losing on it) as a trial 
> run
> before attempting my work PC.
>
> Any and all comments and suggestions are most welcome.
>
> Regards,
>
> ~ Eric.
>
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>
> Eric Patton
>
> Technologist, Geo-Spatial Data Services
> Geological Survey of Canada (Atlantic)
> Natural Resources Canada
> Bedford Institute of Oceanography
> Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada B2Y 4A2
>
> Postal address: P.O. Box 1006
> Courier address: 1 Challenger Drive
>
> Telephone: (902)426-7732
> Facsimile:  (902)426-4104
> E-mail:       epatton at NRCan.gc.ca
>
>
>
>
--
Dylan Beaudette
Soils and Biogeochemistry Graduate Group
University of California at Davis
530.754.7341