Why I need UNIX/Linux

• UNIX or Linux is generally a superior development environment for open-source software tools. However, I will say that MacPorts does very well for me on the Mac along these lines.

• Windows does not support true symbolic links in the file system. (``Shortcuts'' don't work the same way at all.) My files are organized logically in a hierarchy, and then I have a flat set of symbolic links in the directory /l. Thus, I can refer quickly to
  /home/me/Projects/Active/Music/Clarinet/Makefile
  as /l/cla/Makefile. I have not been able to come up with an alternate shortcut mechanism under Windows which works (1) in a shell, (2) in a program, (3) in any open-panel, or (4) while browsing files in Windows Explorer. Environment variables, for example, only work in a shell. In the Cygwin environment, symbolic links work correctly within a Cygwin shell. However, these ``link files'' just behave as regular files in Windows and don't function as true UNIX-style symbolic links.