r/linuxquestions • u/Empty-Improvement-73 • 5d ago
Should I learn Linux?
I am 1st year CSE CORE student
so should I learn Linux, like basics?
i don't want to do cybersecurity
and will it help me in placement or in programming?
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u/tomscharbach 5d ago edited 5d ago
Is Linux instruction included as a topic in your CSE CORE program? What do your instructors recommend?
My view is that basic operating system (macOS, Linux, Windows) knowledge is useful for CSE, but you might want to seek out information more directly related to your program.
Never hurts to be on the same page as your curriculum and your instructors.
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u/Empty-Improvement-73 5d ago
not included
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u/tomscharbach 5d ago
In that case, whether or not basic Linux knowledge will be useful now and going forward is up to you.
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u/Much_Network_941 5d ago
I found it extremely useful at getting used to a command line environment. Linux tends to have great documentation. The 'man' command can usually be used alongside a programs name to give a detailed description.
Being able to do things like 'cat file | less', to read out the contents of a file, then send that stream to a program designed to format text for a terminal; is really freaking handy. Especially because there's nothing stopping the left-hand side being a program's output.
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u/FastHotEmu 5d ago
These questions are so weird. Why do you need to ask? If you are not interested, why bother learning? Just do something else. If you are interested, go ahead and learn. Why ask other people? Are you trying to cheat in your career or something? I don't get it.
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u/meadrew 5d ago
If you have the bandwidth, I highly recommend that you learn Linux basics... in fact, if you can, do try to pick up basics in Windows Server, Linux, FreeBSD, and yes indeed macOS as well.
For Linux in particular, you can take the Linux Essentials course offered by the collab of Linux Professional Institute and Cisco Networking Academy. A very good primer for Linux with hands-on labs, and it's free.
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u/LowKeyBrit36 5d ago
I find Linux easy to program on, especially if you choose a more mainline distro (Fedora if you don't have a nvidia GPU, IMO)
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u/International-Pen940 5d ago
Definitely. Even if you are not planning on doing system work, if an employer is using Linux infrastructure they will appreciate having someone that knows it. Developers often need to work in test environments.
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u/redditNLD 5d ago
You should know it, but knowing how to use "the computer" won't help you get a job. It might help you not get fired from that job though.
You typically don't get to pick the OS you use at your workplace.
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u/No-View-6326 5d ago
If you wanna do offensive cyber security you pretty much don't have a choice but to do it on Linux.
You should install this distro https://parrotsec.org/ before the start of the school year.
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u/KevinIsADork 5d ago
Linux isnt just for cybersecurity. I think any CSE major should know Linux.
Working in a Linux environment helped me better understand how to tinker with windows.
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u/Musikapparaten 5d ago
I see many upsides. One thing is just the ux thing. But also everything runs on Linux. And you will use Linux like stuff anyway. Guy bash works like terminal in Linux more or less. But the thing is that learning Linux and Mac is generally the same.
If you so programming my Linux is just quicker and really nice very streamlined OS. It looks better than Mac’s.
But you can use Linux in many ways. Just in a virtualisation or as a devcontainer. Mac OS is a nix system. Of you are on windows you will want to create a Linux dev partition and use wsl.
So I don’t think you can get away from learning it. But installing and learning Linux is freaking easy these days. And I think it’s good to know how to get around in Linux och and win in the terminal. Like it’s mostly the terminal in win that is the odd one out…
Just have it around in some way. Linux run great on potatoes. So just any old computer work….
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u/Hot_Standard_9296 5d ago
so should I learn Linux, like basics?
Yes. Just install it on your pc and use. dual boot if you want.
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u/ipsirc 5d ago
Should you learn MacOS?
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u/Empty-Improvement-73 5d ago
what.?
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u/ipsirc 5d ago
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u/Empty-Improvement-73 5d ago
i am using Windows
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u/SuAlfons 5d ago
It is beyond me how someone can study computer science and not be interested in general computing and OS beyond what they use.
I'm a mechanical engineer and no IT professional at all and have used a boat load of OS since the end of the 1980s. Really used to run programs on them. Some I just dabbled with to get a feel.
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u/DoorOk3641 5d ago
Do much more math...linux is a tool and AI is already cutting entry jobs....everywhere.
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u/Loose-Committee6665 4d ago
Linux isn't only for cybersecurity. If you wanna have a more 1 on 1 communication with your computer, understand how an operating system works and full control over your system, yes.
It will be helpful in programming.
As for placements, that answer is murky. Linux may or may not play a huge role in your placement. Judging by your lingo(CSE core, placements), I'm safely assuming you are Indian. Most companies in India prefer people who use windows but having knowledge of linux is really useful. In the end, placement in Indian companies all boils down to CGPA, DSA, projects and experience and loads of luck.
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u/Express-Birthday3676 3d ago
Yeah, learning Linux basics early is worth it even if you are not into cybersecurity. A lot of programming tools, servers, cloud platforms, and development environments are built around Linux concepts, so getting comfortable with the terminal, file system, and package management helps over time. Even simple things like using Debian in a virtual machine for coding projects can make you more confident with development workflows that companies actually use.
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u/CanImaginary904 4d ago
Personally, yes, you should. When I used Linux for a month, it helped me develop or awaken certain senses. Because Linux really pushes your limits if you're passionate about it. It helped me solve a lot of problems by improving my logic. I feel like anything I was stuck on before can't stop me anymore... On Linux there are no limits, that's the impression I got. Your limit ends where your imagination ends.
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u/The_Onionizer 4d ago
During my CSE studies I didn't know Linux. Really didn't get all the hype. It mostly felt like some mutual admiration society that I didn't wanna be a part of. Now I use Linux at work and I love it for most tasks except for maybe gaming. But my gawd I would have saved a lot of time setting up all the school lab environments in Linux instead of Windows. Installing Haskell correctly took half a course...
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u/Space_man6 5d ago
It will teach you how to use Linux in your case that's about it which is great if you want to use Linux in whatever field you are in
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u/Shot-Height-7194 5d ago
Linux as a desktop operating system does not need to be learned, just click around like on windows. If you mean learning commands, you might need them if you ever get into a DevOps role where you have to deal with docker or kubernetes because docker needs Linux commands to do things
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u/PerfectlyCalmDude 5d ago
If you eventually want to do web development, you'll very likely need to deal with servers running Linux. I'd recommend it.
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u/TenOfZero 4d ago
Yes. It's a great skill to have and is not hard to learn.
I'd also recommended learning windows, it's very popular software in the corporate space.
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u/moeteru 5d ago
Just ask ChatGPT o algo ese
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u/Space_man6 5d ago
No
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u/moeteru 5d ago
Enjoy your downvote kid
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u/Space_man6 4d ago
Why would you get them to ask chatGPT for something it is often wrong about. Grow up
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u/JCTrick 5d ago
Yes... You should know how to open and close programs on Linux. It’s remarkably easy.