Python is what you want. You can install it on just about any system.
Perl and bash are already there, no need to install anything.
digdilem
joined 2 years ago
I used it for scripting a decade after everyone else, but even I have to admit PHP is rarely the best choice now.
Perl is already installed on most linux machines and unless you start delving into module usage, you won't need to install anything else.
Python is more fashionable, but needs installing on the host and environments can get complicated. I don't think it scales as well as Perl, if that's a concern of yours.
Perl's core to most distros and will be there already. Python isn't and can be quite heavy - plus some of are are still smarting over the major version change breaking everything and the need for complicated environments.
You're right to be paranoid, it's unrelenting how many and varied are the ways of those wanting to take advantage. I hope you find a good compromise for your dad.
Good call, thanks, although I just use -y normally.
Not a personal fan of flatpacks - I tend to stick to distro packages, but each to their own.
Better than anything else, IME. My home server hasn't had a fresh install since Debian 8. It's now on 12 and each time I just dist-upgrade.
There are sometimes the odd breakage, but it's a lot less hassle than reinstalling everything. (we use EL at work and that takes months to migrate to new machines)
I sympathise with your Dad - everyone's had updates go bad, and it's easy to assume the "don't fix what ain't broke" mantra. But to do so is being willfully ignorant of basic computer security. And to be fair, Debian-stable is one of the least troublesome things to just let automatically update.
Debian and Ubuntu have the unattended-upgrades package which is designed to take a lot of the sting out of automatic updating. I'd recommend setting that up and you won't have to touch it again.
There's also the crontab way - "apt-get update && apt-get upgrade" at frequencies that suit you. (A check for reboot afterwards is a good idea).
We've got about a dozen of them now. Exactly as advertised, no problems other than a slightly longer lead time to begin with. Just laptops that can be upgraded.
Thanks, I was wondering how that worked.
Nice write up, and there's lots of choice so although Slackware was the first distro I ever ran, back in the 90s, it probably still has a place.
I'm interested in your take on security, without updates. Do you consider Slackware is secure?
Oh dude, you are so wrong!
Powershell is available for linux and will run the same modules that have made it such a success on Windows. Want to fire up vmware containers or get a list of vms? Want to talk to Exchange servers? Azure? AWX? $large-corporate-thing? Powershell is a very good tool for that, even if it smells very Microsofty.
The linux version works well - it has some quirks (excessive logging, a MS repo that needs manual approving that breaks automatic updates) but aside from those, it just works. I have several multi-year scripts that tick away nicely in the background.