Which Linux distro is the best one to use the Arduino IDE with?
I'm tired of Window$... Totally tired.
While I realize that the Linux learning curve is a bit steeper than Window$.
I use Win7 Ultimate 64 bit and although it isn't too 'difficult' one of my 'other' interests is the R-Pi
Specifically the R-Pi B+ and i'd like to use my various Arduino boards with it as intelligent data I/O and control
point while the R-Pi is the display, storage and director for the other units..
Am I overthinking this or am I right?
I can't say it's best, but I've had good results with Ubuntu 14.04. I didn't install the IDE through the repository; I downloaded it from arduino.cc, and I just run the script. I recall that I had to add myself to a group - maybe the dialout group - and that I had to set an Ubuntu option to enable running a script directly from a folder: from the file viewer, Edit > Preferences > Behavior, and select the behavior I want for an executable text file. After that, mostly happiness.
I'm using Ubuntu 14.04 these days. Apart from some minor issues with the permissions on the serial port it works perfectly. And it's fast! I just download it from this site (both versions 1.0.6, and 1.5.8) and off you go.
Just be aware that if you close the app, data on the clipboard disappears.
And if you want to find the source for something like HardwareSerial, just open the Arduino folder in the file browser, hit the "search" icon, start typing the name you want, and it finds it almost instantly.
I just tested. On this PC, which I have set up as dual-boot, a large sketch (my bootloader uploader) took 1.5 seconds to compile on Ubuntu, and 4 seconds on Windows 7.
If you want a desktop experience that is similar to XP/Win7 then Mint is the way to go.
I used to use Ubuntu, I used it for around 4 years, The releases from
back in 2009 and early 2010 were great back when the Ubuntu slogan was
"It just works!", but now I find the recent Ubuntu distributions (from the past couple of years)
totally unusable, especially now they have dropped a standard desktop environment in favor of their
"Unity" interface.
Canonical's Unity for the Ubuntu kind of similar to Microsoft's Metro that was used on Win8 only worse
as it really limits what you can do, particularly if you like to have lots of windows open.
Maybe some people like it but there are many things are much more difficult or in some cases
impossible to do that were easy to do with a standard desktop interface and more traditional
windows manager/decorator.
Yeah you can do lots of tweaking to make it kind of sort work like a normal desktop
but it is a bunch of work, and even then some things still don't work quit right.
For Mint, I'd pick Mate over Cinnamon as it is more stable.
And unless you plan on doing lots of number crunching, you could use with the 32 bit version
since it can address up to 64gb of RAM. It does limit each program to 4gb of RAM but
that really isn't an issue. The 32bit code is also smaller than the 64 bit code.
I'm currently using 32 bit mate Mint 13 on a 16gb machine.
I NEVER let any Microsoft OS touch my hardware. I boot XP in a virtualbox VM
whenever I need to do something with Windows, which is almost never.
For a new install, I'd go with Mint 17.1 mate edition.
Thank You..
I'd read that Mint was the most friendly... But that's one opinion, hardly a consensus..
I have both current distro's Ubuntu 14.04 and Mint and I'm officially an old geezer..
What I didn't really make clear is that I'd like a Linux distro that is close to the R-Pi distro..
Note after reading the great responses I fuond that I'd had the Mint mate already downloaded as well as Ubuntu 14.04
With two replies from what I consider as heavy duty experts, and my inexperience.. The mint distro seems the friendliest
But it's likely that the Ubuntu will teach me more..
So I think I'll try to use the Ubuntu release first.. I have 4 1 TB drives and a good release of Win7 so I stand only to get an education of it all.. including the R-Pi.. and I have several virgin drives that I can clone my present Main drive to for modification..
Now what limitations will I see in trying to use the Pi for a learning experience with either Linux OS?..
Until Ubuntu changed to use Unity I was an Ubuntu fan but I found Unity unusable so had to change. For about a year I changed to use Debian and then they moved from Gnome 2 to Gnome 3 which looks a bit like Gnome 2 but was like walking in deep mud. I flirted with several other distributions but eventually I settled on Mint Mate which I am very happy with though I would go back to Gnome 2 if I could.
Note - I think Raspian is based on Debian but seems much more usable than Debian.
[quote author=Nick Gammon date=1417672153 link=msg=1987337]
I'm using Ubuntu 14.04 these days. [/quote]
Good news.
I've been using Xubuntu 12.04 and I've been reluctant to upgrade because I saw somewhere that someone said that 14.04 caused a problem with the IDE.
From occasionally coming across Threads where people use Windows with the Arduino it seems to me that life is very much easier on Linux.
I'm a bit out of touch with Windows, but one of the things that really pissed me off was that the USB port that you plugged into made a difference. Linux doesn't care - it is only interested in what is plugged in.
Another thing I like about Linux is that all the disk drives are one big happy family with no hard barriers like C: and D:
stowite:
Until Ubuntu changed to use Unity I was an Ubuntu fan
I didn't (don't) like the Unity interface but I have found that Xubuntu is old-fashioned enough for me.
I wish they (all of them) would just give up tinkering with the appearance and only make changes that are actually useful.
+1 to all that were kind enough to answer..
TMD3, Nick Gammon for all of his help, pberrybap, stowite and Robin2.
All of you are people who I respect highly..
I do think that Ubunbtu 14.04 will be my choice after all, though Mint seems more attractive as it is purportedly.. Easier (read more N00B friendly) than Ubuntu.
Though sometimes one must put the training wheels back in the box and face the real world and learn to ride.
Again Thanks to All..
It is my hope in asking this question that more than I am the benefactor of the collected wisdom..
and this thread doesn't die here once I've found my solution.
Docedison:
It is my hope in asking this question that more than I am the benefactor of the collected wisdom, and this thread doesn't die here once I've found my solution.
OK. In that spirit, I installed Ubuntu 14.04 32-bit on my wife's eight-to-ten year old laptop, a Dell Inspiron 6400 with 2GB RAM and a 60GB SSD. Here's the process, including hiccups, bad ideas, and mistakes, going from a cold installation to a running IDE and a freshly-compiled "Blink without Delay" running on an Arduino.
Downloaded the 32-bit desktop .iso file, starting at ubuntu.com. This machine is a 32-bit laptop, so it needs the 32-bit distribution. A newer, better machine with more RAM should probably use the 64-bit version.
Went through the installation process, following directions on the screen. Ubuntu couldn't get a wired channel or a wireless channel, so it didn't ask me if I wanted to update as I installed. If it can get a web connection, it will give you the opportunity to select that option. Because I couldn't select it, I had a lengthy update later.
Went through an annoying process to get Broadcom network interfaces working, using the instructions here - networking - Installing Broadcom Wireless Drivers - Ask Ubuntu. It's my hope that your computer has a later, or better, set of interfaces. If anybody wants to know that process for this laptop model, I'll post it.
Installed the chromium browser, because I'm used to it. Firefox comes installed with Ubuntu 14.04, and it will work just fine.
Created a directory called, "Arduino," in my home directory, and a folder called, "Programs," inside that new "Arduino" folder. I'll save my sketches in "Programs," using a single folder for sketches no matter how many versions of the IDE I install. That's strictly a matter of preference.
Downloaded Arduino 1.0.6 64-bit from the Arduino download page. Extracted the contents to my new "Arduino" folder by opening the archive file I downloaded, selecting "Extract," and pointing to the new "Arduino " folder.
Opened the "Files" icon - looks like a file cabinet - then Edit>Preferences>Behavior, and under "Executable Text Files," selected, "Ask each time," again, because I'm used to that setting. The default behavior is to view those files when they open. We want to have the opportunity to execute the IDE.
Though I thought it wouldn't work, I tried running the "arduino" file inside the "arduino 1.0.6" folder, by double-clicking it. It didn't work, because it runs under java, and no java implementation was installed.
Installed "openjdk-7-jre," because that's the java implementation I've used before.
sudo apt-get install openjdk-7-jre
Tried to run "arduino," still no joy.
Added myself to the dialout group. I needed to do this in order to access the USB/serial ports. It turns out that the IDE will run even if I'm not a member of "dialout," but it won't download to the Arduino. I found later that another issue, described below, was keeping me from running the IDE.
sudo usermod -a -G dialout tom
where "tom" is my username. You'll want to use your own username instead.
Ran the arduino application. It opened, and asked me where to store and look for sketches. I told it, "/home/tom/Arduino/Programs/" Then it quit, without so much as a, "by your leave."
Used the "groups" command to check that I was a member of the "dialout" group, and found that I wasn't. Remembered that I have to log out and back in to update my group memberships. Logged out, logged in, and found myself in the "dialout" group.
Tried to open "arduino 1.0.6" again. Still no joy - it asked again where I wanted to keep sketches, and promptly quit.
I realized, with no small sense of embarrassment, that I was trying to run the 64-bit IDE on a 32-bit machine and operating system. Downloaded the 32-bit IDE, extracted it, and ran it. It asked me once more where to put sketches, and then ran just fine. I was soon blinking the LED on pin 13.
So, that's how it worked for me tonight. To avoid the unhappiness I experienced,
Match the IDE to the operating system,
Have a better set of network interfaces than I have, and
Remember to add yourself to the dialout group, log out, and log back in,
and it will go easier for you.
I've tried to avoid telling you how to draw an owl, as Grumpy Mike showed us here - Linux Instructions - but, it's certain that I've failed to some degree. If you have little experience with Linux, some of the process will likely be indecipherable to you. Ask away,
Yeah, I probably did some of that. But a few minutes of hunting stuff up like that at the start is worth it for the fast compiles, easy searching, etc. afterwards.