How can I improve my programming experience on my Linux Desktop?

Question

How can I improve the look and feel of my Linux desktop to suit my programming needs?

I found Compiz and it makes switching between my workspaces (which is something I do all the time to make the most of my 13.3" screen laptop) easy and look great - so what else don't I know about that make my programming environment more productive/pleasing?

@Rob Cooper - thanks for the heads-up, hope this reword addresses the issues

Answer 1

Hey Brabster,

This question is too subjective for StackOverflow, as per the FAQ, it is also not a programming question.

What kind of questions should I not ask here?

Avoid asking questions that are subjective, argumentative, or require extended discussion. This is a place for questions that can be answered!

I know you are still a new member and getting into the swing of things (so I have not downmodded). This is not a flame but more of a "heads-up" :)

Answer 2

If you have half decent 3D acceleration on board, CompizFusion adds attractive desktop effects like mapping your workspaces onto a cube using that to switch between them/move windows between them. Looks pretty and improves general usability - great!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compiz

Answer 3

Either way, if you expect an answer, give us more information about the system. What distro are you using, for starters?

@Rob: How is it subjective? I agree that the question doesn't belong here, but I can't see how it is subjective.

Answer 4

I've used by Ubuntu desktop for some coding sessions. I haven't settled on an IDE, but if I'm not using gedit, I'll use emacs as my editor. Sometimes I need to ssh to a remote server and edit from there, in which case emacs is preferred. I'm just not the vi(m) type.

Maybe I'll try out Eclipse one day...

I love Compiz, but it does nothing for my coding experience. It's just eye candy. You can do desktop switching and Alt-Tab just fine without it. Aside from that, Jeff Atwood's recommendations for good chair, multi-monitors, and simplistic background still apply for me.

Answer 5

I found that the best programming experience comes from having quick access all your tools. This means getting comfortable with basic command line acrobatics and really learning keyboard shortcuts, flags, and little productivity apps.

I find that most of my workflow comes down to just a few apps and commands:

• Terminator
• SVN commands - ci, co, status, log, etc.
• Command Line FTP
• Vim
• Basic Command lines operations (cd, rm, mv, cp, touch, grep, and std i/o redirection comprise 80% of my work day)

Not to say that GUI apps aren't necessary. A few I use:

• Diffmerge
• RapidSVN
• Filezilla
• VirtualBox
• GnomeDo (this really should be first)

When it comes down to it, the real improvement in programming experience comes from just that - programming experience. Just pick a set of tools and stick with them until you know them inside and out.