It is one of the eternal jokes of computer scientists. Every time we change the calendar, it is said that “this is going to be the year of Linux on the desktop”. The prediction had never come true, but now it has. A little, at least.
Developers love Linux. The general public may not take it as much into account, but Linux is one of the great protagonists for software developers. This is how it proves the last big Stack Overflow surveythe question and answer site that is an absolute reference for this community.
Less than Windows, more than macOS. The growth of Linux use in this community is remarkable, and between 2018 and 2021 the share was 23.2%, 25.6%, 26.6% and 25.3%. But in 2022 its share has exploded and has reached 40.23%. Windows is still the most popular (62.33%), but Linux is ahead of macOS (31.07%), something really surprising.
And in fact they use it even more. Developers not only use machines with Linux installed natively, but also harness its power in other ways.
For example, that use of Linux is also remarkable for those who use it “within Windows” thanks to the Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL). Microsoft’s bet in this sense seems to have materialized. In addition, there are also 63% of users who use it in Docker through Linux virtual machines on both macOS and Windows.
Windows dominates on the global desktop. Linux may have conquered the desktop for developers, but not for the rest of the world. The actual global fee is much lowerand that’s where Windows dominance is brutal.
According to data from Statcounter GlobalStatsWindows ends the year with a 75.11% share, compared to 15.6% for macOS and 2.77% for Linux, in line with previous years. Ordinary users continue to hardly take it into account.
And the Steam Deck? Valve’s fantastic console is based on a Linux distribution called SteamOS Holo, and its success among the gamers has made the market share grow slightly in this area. The usage share of Linux on Steam is very discreet (1.44%, compared to 96.11% for Windows), but it is striking to see how Valve’s distribution It is already the most used in that segment: in that 1.44% of Linux gamers, 25.77% of them use SteamOS Holo, well ahead of the 10.89% of Ubuntu 22.04.1 or the 9.37% of Arch Linux.
But Linux is (almost) everywhere. Windows and macOS may have more visibility for normal users or professionals, but in reality the presence of Linux is absolute in various segments.
This operating system dominates the field of supercomputing, it is the basis of the Android platform and according to W3Techs, four out of five servers In the world they work with Linux: when you buy on Amazon or read a communication medium (like Xataka), you do it thanks to the reliability of this operating system and its components.
Picture: gabriel heinzer
