On Sat, 02 Sep 2017 18:21:07 +0000 Tom Browder <tom.brow...@gmail.com> wrote:
> My Linux user group is setting up one desktop computer and one laptop > computer for lending to our local library as an educational resource > for folks who want to explore what Linux is all about. Could you clarify a little, please? Are these random library users or computer science students? > We are using > Debian 9 for now. > > I am open to any suggestions for standard packages we should add. I > have already installed gcc and friends as well as Scilab, R, Perl 6, > and some other stuff, including emacs. > > I would especially appreciate other ideas for programming editors for > novice programmers. > You have emacs. Did you mean something a little less intimidating? I'm a casual hacker (in the original meaning) and find Geany useful without needing an hour's revision before using it. For basic non-programming text editing, there are a number of editors broadly similar to Windows Notepad, such as Gedit, Leafpad and Mousepad. I've never used it, but Eclipse is a general-purpose IDE, with an inclination towards Java. If you're aiming at a wide range of languages, you might consider Lazarus, a visual object Pascal somewhat similar to Delphi on Windows, with its own IDE. Python is trendy these days, and PHP is widely used for server-side web programming. Programming support? Did you want git, to teach versioning systems? Diffuse, a standalone diff/merge application? Again, who? Those interested in making things with the Arduino will find it fully supported on Linux, having its own small IDE and using C, needing a serial port or USB-serial to program the Arduino, and some Arduinos have on-board USB. The Microchip PIC is somewhat supported, but needs a (cheap-ish) dedicated programmer and there are few off-the-shelf PCBs, none organised as well as the Arduino. Gimp for pixel graphics editing, Inkscape for vector? Gschem and PCB for schematic diagram creation and PCB layout? LibreCAD for 2D engineering drawing, OpenSCAD for 3D CAD and 3D printer driving? Audacity sound editor? MP3 tag editors? Other people will have other lists, I'm just flipping through my workstation menus. -- Joe
