Programming and Development Under Linux

Linux provides a wonderful programming/development environment.

GCC, GNU Compiler Collection (C, C++, Objective C, Fortran 77, Java and Chill --- to compile native executables from Java source one needs to install some more stuff),

GNAT (a complete Ada95 compilation system, maintained and distributed under the GNU General Public License by Ada Core Technologies);

GNU Sather (an object oriented language designed to be simple, efficient, safe, flexible and non-proprietary)

There is no shortage of Java on Linux:

blackdown.org

...offer a freely-downloadable Java environment.
The Blackdown Java-Linux porting team is a non-profit group of enthusiastic Java technology and Linux developers who have led the efforts to port various JDKs and J2SE releases to Linux.

Sun

As you'd expect, Sun offer The Source for Java Technology (their capitals); its at java.sun.com.

And all the scripting languages you could possibly imagine including the classic scripting languages, TCL, Perl and that youthful upstart Python!

Secondly, more compilers following, or influenced by, the Wirth school of thought:

Oberon

(Oberon is an operating-system and a language; we're interested in the language here: pascal-like syntax; strong type checking; modules with type-checked interfaces and separate compilation; OOP-support; support for run-time type tests; support for system programming; very fast compilation.)

Free Pascal

(A clone of Turbo Pascal, with its language extensions such as modules and interfaces.)

Modula-3

(...as simple and safe as it can be while meeting the needs of modern systems programmers...robustness, and a simple, systematic type system...explicit interfaces between modules; objects and classes, exception handling, garbage collection, lightweight processes (or threads), and the isolation of unsafe features.)

GNAT

GNAT is the GNU Ada Translator, developed by Ada Core Technologies. The GNU Ada people focus on projects supporting GNAT on platforms including GNU/Linux and NetBSD.

• NAg sell Fortran 77/90/95 compilers (and debuggers) for Linux and other Unix-like operating systems. UMIST has a site license for these. A 30 day trial license is available.
  
  
• Lahey sell Fortran compilers for Linux and MS Windows.
  
  
• NA Software see a Fortran 95 compiler for Linux and MS Windows. Student, Standard and Professional version are available, the latter coming with HPF, BLAS, LAPACK, LVLIB, Variable Precision Arithmetic and High Accuracy Special Functions Libraries. (The latter was written by Dr Brian Doman of Liverpool University.)

• The Veridian offers a Personal (free) version of the VAST/f90 Fortran 90 compiler system on Linux platforms for x86 machines. VAST/f90 works with g77 to provide a high-speed execution environment for your Fortran 90 programs. Please note that there are some restrictions (updated 6/3/98). While we think they're relatively minor, we encourage you to scan the list.
  
  
• You might want to consider F --- a closely-related alternative to Fortran 90/95 (think modern Fortran but without the baggage, such as COMMON blocks GOTO statements; F is a strict subset of Fortran 90/95). Free compilers are available including those from Imagine 1.
  
  
• There is a GNU F90/95 compiler in development, but it will be a while yet.

JBuilder, Kylix and Other Borland/Inprise Software

Borland supports the Linux platform offering both JBuilder and Kylix. There is an O'Reilly book describing it and a "community" site devoted to it too.

KDevelop

The standard environment for development of C++ programmes for KDE/Qt on Linux (and Unix): www.kdevelop.org

Glade

Glade is a free user interface builder for GTK+ and Gnome. It is released under the GNU General Public License (GPL).

It works in a similar way to Visual Basic and the other Microsoft Visual Suite products.

Glade can produce C source code itself. C++, Ada95, Python & Perl support is also available, via external tools which process the XML interface description files output by Glade.

Lazarus

Lazarus is a "visual" version of Free Pascal: think Delphi clone.

Visual Tcl/Tk

There are several visual development environments for Tcl/Tk, these include:

• The Visual Tcl project by Stewart Allen.
• The Visual GIPSY is a visual development environment for Tcl/Tk; free, open source.

The dominant GUI-development widget libraries on the Linux/Unix platforms are:

Qt

I quote:

Qt is a GUI software toolkit. Qt simplifies the task of writing and maintaining GUI (graphical user interface) applications.

Qt is written in C++ and is fully object-oriented. It has everything you need to create professional GUI applications. And it enables you to create them quickly.

Qt is a multi-platform toolkit. When developing software with Qt, you can run it on the X Window System (Unix/X11) or Microsoft Windows NT and Windows 95/98. Simply recompile your source code on the platform you want.

It is developed by Troll Tech.

Qt is used as the basis for KDE.

Qt is ideal for cross-platform development: it can be used to develop applications which run on Linux, Unix, Windows and the Macintosh.

The Qt toolkit is available under two different licenses: the Professional and Enterprise Editions for commercial use on all platforms, and the Free Edition for developing free/open source software for the X platform.

Gtk

I quote:

GTK+ is an Open Source Free Software GUI Toolkit, primarily developed for use with the X Window System. Everything about GTK+ from the object-oriented design to the Free Software LGPL licensing allows you to code your project with the most freedom possible. You can develop open software, free software, or even commercial non-free software without having to spend a dime for licenses or royalties.

Bindings for GTK+ exist for many languages: Ada95, C++, Dylan, Eiffel, Haskell, JavaScript, Objective C, Objective Caml, Objective Label, Pascal, Perl, Pike, Python and TOM, as of the time of writing :-)

The GNOME project uses GTK+.

GNUstep

From the web site: ...it's an object-oriented development environment. OK, it's a free, standard, object-oriented, cross-platform development environment that is meant to provide generalized visual interface design, a cohesive user interface, and look good as well. GNUstep is based on and is completely compatible with the OpenStep specification developed by NeXT (now Apple Computer Inc.). We also plan to track future changes to the MacOS X system in order to remain compatible. GNUstep is written in the object-oriented language "Objective-C"... Apple has also added a Java interface to OpenStep, and GNUstep has this also.

So, if you want to write applications for both Linux and Mac OS X, and agree that Objective C is a proper programming language (in contrast to C++), then GNUstep is for you.

Tk

Tk is a GUI widget library, available on many platforms, originally written to be used with the scripting language TCL:

• tcltk.com: Tcl/Tk Resources on the Web
  
  
• SCO: ...an index to a set of TCL/Tk references on the WWW presented as something of an Information Overview.
  
  
• Scriptics: the company set up by the writer/designer of Tcl and of Tk; Scriptics maintain the Tcl/Tk developer exchange.

Bindings now exist for several languages, including for Perl and for Python.