I’ve always wanted to understand what is actually meant by this. I have wanted to get into programming for years, did some basic python and c, but could never really progress. Not necessarily a linux question but I know since most distros come with libraries already, it’s popular to use for programming.
I have trouble understanding what people are actually programming if it isn’t their job. Like, you go to your computer and start working on…what? I don’t know enough to make an entire program or debug a game, so im just unsure what people do especially when starting out.
Also I don’t really want to learn it for a job. I just want to learn it to know it. But im not sure how to apply it to anything realistic.
The short answer is: it depends on what you’re doing.
Most servers run on Linux, so anything related with web backends or high performance computing (rendering, complex algorithms) will likely be deployed on Linux in production, so the devs may choose to do the whole program lifecycle from there (even if the language/framework is OS agnostic and could be developed from anywhere).
Other kinds of programs like video games may need a windows for their entire lifecycle, and iOS apps need macOS.
There is likely no “need” to develop from Linux, and it’s not necessary better, but some people may choose it for the entire lifecycle anyway