UNIX for Dummies Questions & Answers

Ok, first off, hello. My name's Jairus, and I love computers, but I've been, what's the word, repressed. Ever since I was very young I've wanted to learn to program.

I'm 16 now, and I know only Windows. I want to learn Linux/Unix and C++ (not all at the same time, of course) so that I can get a job working with what I love, computers. My parents always wanted me to be "normal" (i.e. one computer in the house, sweaters instead of software, branding computer people as 'weird'), they just didn't know what it was. But, I'm old enough now that I want to learn this stuff.

I've taken my old hard drive out of my personal computer and put in a new 20GB temporary drive, and I don't even know where to begin on it. This is where I hope you can help me. I have some questions that will get me started, I'm going to buy books, because I want to learn this.

1. Linux/Unix/??? - Which of
these (or others) would be
more useful to someone
interested in becoming a
programmer, and how long
did it take you to become
comfortable with it?
2. C#/C++ - Is one better than
the other? I really don't know
much about it, but I'm willing
to learn. How difficult is it to
understand?, etc.
3. Computer specs - What CPU,
components, cards, etc. work
best with Unix applications?
4. Windows? - Will my Windows
knowledge help me at all in
becoming a programmer?

Thanks. All your help will most certainly be appreciated. If, when I learn the basics, I find that I pick this up okay, it's definitely going to be in my career plans.

-Jairus

1. In terms of programming, I don't see much difference between Linux and other more traditional unix flavours. The same way --- read man pages or other documentation on function calls, put everything into a program and compile. The libraries available on different unix flavours are a bit different, but certain standards/conventions make such differences usually small.

Linux distro vendors have done a lot of hard work to make an enjoyable unix experience comparable or even surpassing M$ Windows right out of the box. I personally would suggest linux as a stepping stone to understanding and learning the Unix operating system. You may reach comparable levels of enjoyment with other unix variants, but be prepared to make a bit more configuration for that. It's not advocacy on particular unix flavours, just a conclusion I have reached after using a few unix flavours.

2. C++. I heard C# is being worked on on some Unix platforms, but I don't know the level of maturity yet. At least, C/C++ receives far more support on unix than C#.

3. Go to the web site of the particular unix flavour you are planning to install and there are relevant information on that, including hardware support.

4. One must always be planned to learn new things along the way. Even for experienced Windows programmers they still need to learn something new everyday, no matter whether they remain on the Windows platform or transit to another development platform.

I believe existing posts on this forum would help you much making choices along your exploration and learn more about this OS.