Do you prefer to work with Microsoft technologies (Windows OS + a .Net language) or Unix/Linux + Java and why?

Question

Do you prefer to work with Microsoft technologies (Windows OS + a .Net language) or Unix/Linux + Java and why?

Answer 1

(shrug)



Mostly, I think the Unix/MS choice comes down to a matter of the client is. Non techy people like Windows.



I don't think either MS or Unix is going to dissapear anytime soon, so from a career point of view it dosen't make much difference.



I think you're better off being able to do both.

Answer 2

Good luck in finding an answer to your question. As a matter of fact there is no answer, but rather everyone here will be biased to the technology he is used to.



I have been working in development in Microsoft technologies since 4 years and that's what I do best. I chose this path because of the job opportunities where I live.



Just because "most of the web hosts" use UNIX doesn't mean it will be easier for you to find a job if you're a UNIX administrator. You have to research your own market to sniff the job opportunities in your particular area.



I have been working in ASP.NET for quite a time now and I believe that it is the fastest environment/framework to develop web applications.



SQL server 2005 is also on the rise. It has been greatly enhanced since SQL Server 2000. Yes, it doesn't compete with Oracle, but taken it's price into consideration and the cheaper services you get with it rather than with Oracle makes it a serious competitor.



In the end I suggest that you research the job opportunities in your particular area before taking a decision. All answers here will be biased.



Hope this helps.

Answer 3

Unix/Linux systems are far more stable, and once you start are easier to work with. Also they are more standardised, everything MS is done their own way, and just as you get a system going they are liable to change the coding forcing you to upgrade and modify everything. Mysql, php and Java are very standard, even when run on Microsoft systems.

Answer 4

Anyone can learn to drag and drop modules to create 'applications'. I'm biased, mind I started with assembly and COBOL and I still remember the utter revulsion of the bloated monstrosities VB / VCC churned out.



*shudder*



Do yourself a favour and play with the Microsoft stuff at home and get a job with Linux, you'll learn more, faster, and thank yourself in the long run.



Plus, of course, nearly 80% of ISP's and Hosts use Linux servers so your are more likely to be in demand.

Answer 5

I donot want to contradict with anybody else but in my opinion, microsoft makes life easier for you as a programmer. they have encapsulated everything and a decent software doesnot need you to code thousands of lines codes like in other languages.



It makes it easier to develop applications, yes, but it also makes the development process a bit fussy, because you donot have full control. it the price of ease of use.

Answer 6

linux is betta since u can write .net apps in linux using mono (name of software) and so on but all to gether i like the .net framwork altho java probs it the best since it multi os and runs on macs

Answer 7

I work with both on a day-to-day basis. Unix is more stable, easier to administrate, more powerful (i.e. you can do a lot of complex tasks very simply). You're much better off going the Linux way - it's much more rewarding over-all.



Re-booting to fix a problem? Pull the other one!

Answer 8

In general I prefer Java over .NET. The only exception is for developing Windows-based rich clients. If I had to develop one of those I would not hesitate to use .NET over Java.



The reason I prefer Java is that the open source community seems to be much more active in the Java domain than in the .NET domain. I like the fact that Sun publishes the Java specification and that anyone can create servers and tools to use with that language. For .NET you're stuck running Microsoft's server platform and Visio Studio. Granted, their products are actually pretty good but in the Unix/Java side you've got more options to choose from. If you're unhappy with the way IBM supports WebSphere, you can use BEA's WebLogic. And if you're just a developer curious how to program in Java you can go get really high quality tools to use for free such as Eclipse, JBoss, and MySQL and you can learn 99% of the tools you'd need to become a enterprise-caliber developer. Same holds true to a technical shop on a shoestring budget. You can set up a Java-based environment much cheaper than a .NET one.



I am biased because I do a lot of Java development, but I think the same holds true for Ruby, Python, Perl, and PHP developers.



Overall each programming language/platform has its own strengths and weaknesses and a good developer will use the right tool for the right job.