# Windows or Linux for RoR Development

**URL:** <https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/windows-or-linux-for-ror-development/196596>\
**Category:** Deployment\
**Created:** [February 15, 2008, 7:25pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/windows-or-linux-for-ror-development/196596 "2008-02-15T19:25:59Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![liquidrails](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/l/a6a055/32.png) [@liquidrails](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/liquidrails)\
**Post date:** [February 15, 2008, 7:25pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/windows-or-linux-for-ror-development/196596/1 "2008-02-15T19:25:59Z")

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Any thoughts on this? I am contemplating a switch from a Windows  
platform to Linux. Thanks!

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**Author:** ![liquidrails](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/l/a6a055/32.png) [@liquidrails](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/liquidrails)\
**Post date:** [February 15, 2008, 7:30pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/windows-or-linux-for-ror-development/196596/2 "2008-02-15T19:30:22Z")

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Well, I’ve been using Windows for development from the start and  
deploying  
to Linux. The only issues I’ve ever encountered were small and usually  
involve things outside of the Rails app. Like a gem not working on  
Windows  
or differences with programs like ImageMagick or whatever. Nothing has  
been  
a deal breaker. I use Aptana RadRails for development and everything is  
pretty easy going.

Raul

----- Original Message -----  
From: “Cheri R.” [removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid](mailto:removed_email_address@domain.invalid)  
To: [removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid](mailto:removed_email_address@domain.invalid)  
Sent: Friday, February 15, 2008 10:25 AM  
Subject: [Rails-deploy] Windows or Linux for RoR Development

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![liquidrails](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/l/a6a055/32.png) [@liquidrails](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/liquidrails)\
**Post date:** [February 15, 2008, 9:42pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/windows-or-linux-for-ror-development/196596/3 "2008-02-15T21:42:39Z")

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On Fri, Feb 15, 2008 at 11:25 AM, Cheri R.  
[removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid](mailto:removed_email_address@domain.invalid) wrote:

> Any thoughts on this? I am contemplating a switch from a Windows  
> platform to Linux. Thanks!

Definitely Linux, both for development and production.

Reasons:

1. Ruby is much faster on Linux (2-3 times difference when running  
tests for a Rails app)
2. No messing around with slashes and backslashes in file paths.
3. MICH better command-line environment (which is relatively more  
important for Ruby development - many Ruby dev tools have no GUI).
4. Pretty much all Ruby libraries are developed on either Linux or  
Mac. Therefore, many have idiosyncrasies It’s pretty common to see  
“Subtle Windows bug fixed” as a CHANGELOG entry for version X.Y.1 of  
any library.
5. Building native gems on Windows is just pain.

It’s possible to do Ruby development (and even production deployment)  
on Windows, but Linux is certainly more convenient.

–  
Alexey V.  
CruiseControl.rb [[http://cruisecontrolrb.thoughtworks.com](http://cruisecontrolrb.thoughtworks.com)]  
RubyWorks [[http://rubyworks.thoughtworks.com](http://rubyworks.thoughtworks.com)]