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Where is python installed on Linux

reddit.com › r › learnpython › comments › lgtk5k › where_is_python_installed_on_linux

Check /usr/bin/, most executables that come with the install should be there. Answer from Username_RANDINT on reddit.com

reddit.com › r/learnpython › using python on linux

r/learnpython on Reddit: Using Python on LINUX

December 25, 2018 -

Anyone there using python on LINUX? How is your experience? Pros and cons? Which platform(Windows, Linux, Mac, Ubuntu) is the best one, one should go for to use python along with all its packages and functionality? Any other useful information would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Most Python packages are made to be cross-platform, so it won't make much of a difference what OS you use. That said, I use Linux personally.

Anything making heavy use of the command line and PATH are in general a much better experience on Linux. Everything is packaged up nicely by the distro (operating system) maintainers so it "Just Works" out of the box.

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reddit.com › r/learnpython › where is python installed on linux

r/learnpython on Reddit: Where is python installed on Linux

February 10, 2021 -

Hi, I have anaconda installed, so typing:

which python

just returns the anaconda path, however, I need to unearth the standard install location as a script is annoyingly asking for python2.7. Google unfortunately only tells you how to install it, and I know that, I've just forgotten where the binary is usually located on linux and google won't tell me that no matter what I type in.

UPDATE: Thanks guys, I found it looking in /usr/bin/ and /usr/local/bin/ and to my delight, it's not there, Just upgraded to Linux Mint 20 and there is python3.8. lovely.

Check /usr/bin/, most executables that come with the install should be there.

It depends on your Linux distro but I think it's in /usr/local/bin/ , /bin is also an option

reddit.com › r/linuxquestions › where to install my python project in linux

r/linuxquestions on Reddit: where to install my python project in linux

May 5, 2022 -

Hello, I developed a python software but I do not know where should I place it in the linux filesystem, in order to be able to run it from any command line. I do not want to use alias to do that, is there a sort of bin folder in the user directory where should I place my project?

~/.local/bin is a good place for your personal scripts or executables. This should automatically be in the $PATH. If you want to install for all user, one correct solution is /usr/local/bin (note ABSOLUTELY NOT /usr/bin, the 'local' is important!!). Likely /usr/local/bin is in the default $PATH too, it is for me at least. Another way to install for all users, especially if it is a bigger package with many files, is to make a directory in /opt/ for your project. Generally these project folders in /opt are laid out like /usr is. You would probably have /opt/MY_PKG/bin, /opt/MY_PKG/share, /opt/MY_PKG/lib and so on. You would need to modify $PATH (and possibly other environment variables as well), but the advantage is that you keep your project in one directory.

The PATH environment variable defines where the terminal looks for commands. The best thing to do would be to create a scripts folder somewhere in your home directory and then add that folder to your PATH, and then put your python file in there. There are many great tutorials online on how to add a folder to PATH. Heres the one I read once: https://www.howtogeek.com/658904/how-to-add-a-directory-to-your-path-in-linux/

reddit.com › r/python › why use linux?

r/Python on Reddit: Why use Linux?

April 19, 2019 -

The post why use Anaconda got a great response, I was hoping to ask a similar question: What are the benefits of Linux operating systems in comparison to other traditional operating softwares such as Windows and Mac?

I have been using Python for one year now quite consistently for data science, and I have heard that Linux is much better in many regards to Windows but I had never got a good understanding of what it does so much better.

windows CMD/terminal sucks, Unix terminal (Mac, Linux and others) is better Linux is free Linux is lightweight, bloatware free installing packages on Linux is much easier and quicker (snap, apt, apt-get, dpk, pacman etc) plus they are updated automatically production servers usually run on Linux, so it is easier to test and deploy your project from Linux/mac machine with experience in bash commands Windows tries to keep up with Linux since few years, by wsl, Unix tools (SSH and few other), but still it can cause a big headache for cs/ds projects.

Because most servers run Linux and developers like their work environment to be similar to the production environment.

reddit.com › r/python › linux python devs, what distro do you use and why?

r/Python on Reddit: Linux Python devs, what distro do you use and why?

April 13, 2019 -

I am curious what others are using and why? So far I have been using CentOS, because it is the default (mandatory) one in my organisation.

Edit: Thanks guys, I've been reading every single comment on here and learned about some really cool distros that I will definitely check out on my own time. Happy to read even more!

I always feel like such a basic bitch when answering this question. I'm nearly 20 years into Unix/Linux and I always end up on Ubuntu for local dev/home servers. I move the task bar to the bottom, resize it and use the rest as default. Production cloud can be either Ubuntu or Alpine (Centos when requested).

Arch, because the AUR is awesome, and the repos are bleeding edge.

reddit.com › r/learnpython › can you learn python on linux?

r/learnpython on Reddit: Can you learn Python on Linux?

January 10, 2023 -

So a couple months ago I installed Linux completely on my old laptop and was wondering if it was still possible to learn Python as a complete noob in programming. Or will Linux get in the way of that? I don’t know Linux but I was hoping to learn alongside learning Python.

Unfortunately my newer laptop is a Chromebook and as we all know is not designed to program. I’m not looking to install this or that either because it’s a headache.

What do you guys think? Should I just wait and buy a new PC to program smoothly or is my plan sound?

Linux is great for Python. Stop worrying about your setup and start learning. Such worrying can end up becoming a form of procrastinating.

Linux is the generally preferred way to program Python.

reddit.com › r/ubuntu › trying to code python, linux noob.

r/Ubuntu on Reddit: Trying to code Python, Linux noob.

September 15, 2014 -

Hello all, as the title suggests I'm fairly new with Linux and really would like to know which program I should use to code in Python on my Ubuntu OS. Please be thorough with your instructions.

I'm a career python dev and I've never really felt the need for much more than syntax highlighting. I hear great things about PyCharm and it looks neat, but personally I just vim, ipython and ipdb or pdb, and pylint for checking syntax. Haven't got around to trying flake yet. If I work in a large codebase and feel the need to jump to definitions of classes or functions, I use ctags. If I were to start over from ground zero, I'd probably use ipython and any text editor with syntax highlighting. The most important thing IMO is to keep the documentation open (or python3 docs ). Run through the tutorials and maybe pick up Learn Python the Hard Way. I've heard it's great but I've never used it. The IDE isn't nearly as important as your skills in trying tutorials and looking up parts you don't know yet. It's going to be the same as any other language. You're only going to get better by trying it out. Working in a professional environment is the best way to learn IMO, but you'll learn plenty by starting your own side projects and asking r/python for tips and advice. Take criticism well, and mention you're a newbie, but look for knowledgeable experts giving you solid advice. Learn PEP8 . This is the standard style and almost all professional python code will follow it. It's not very difficult. In python, indentation matters more because it defines scope. Naming conventions are nice. Again, the most important thing is practice and perseverance. Keep trying, accept advice from r/python , and experiment. Python has it's own style, and code can be "pythonic". You can define functions directly in a file, then import that file as module and call the functions. You don't need to overuse classes like in Java or C#. You can just start writing functions and use them. Learn how functional programming works, because it can be very useful with Python. Also, remember that it is a language where some most bugs will only show themselves during run-time, which means you need to keep testing and be thorough when debugging. Practice writing assert statements to verify that data is as you expect it to be when it's at certain places of the code. Look up contract style programming . You don't necessarily need to use it, but it may help a beginner to use basics, like assert that the arguments to the function are as expected. Assertions should only be used to check for bugs, and AssertionError should never be caught. If you place assertions to catch bugs early on, your debugging cycle will be much quicker. Read code. Read good, professional code. You will pick up a lot more than you realize when you read and understand good code. Two well known to be well-written python modules are flask and requests . I learned a bit by reading through the flask code. And Practice! Good luck.

A terminal to execute your scripts and a text editor such as gedit (default text editor in Ubuntu) to write your scripts. Read "Learn Python The Hard Way" if you're new to programming and need a little help, starting with the absolute basics. The book gets a little sour in chapter forty-something when he tries to explain objects, but you can just drop the book there.

reddit.com › r/learnpython › is it easier to program in windows or linux?

r/learnpython on Reddit: Is It Easier To Program In Windows Or Linux?

December 30, 2021 -

I am a noob but I was distro hopping the other day and was using an operating system called Fedora.

So I learned a little bit about python a long time ago and because I was bored I decided to test out Fedora with Python.

I typed into the terminal nano test.py and then started to type in some a very simple piece of code. I then saved my file and then I executed my file in the terminal using python test.py

I noticed my file executed perfectly.

I then tried to replicate this on Windows and even installing Python was an inconvenience with vscode.

am I doing something wrong or is Linux just better to code in?

I understand its a matter of preference but I want to get an idea of what the learn python community thinks.

I don't know how to code in python but I want to learn and seeing how easy it was to get started in Fedora I am not more motivated to get started.

Historically Linux was much better. Nowadays it really does not matter. Especially for python, which is generally OS agnostic. Yeah Linux happens to come with python OOTB, but installing python is probably not a dealbreaker for most people. Personally I only use Linux, because I find it more awesome in all respects, not just programming.

This is a "religious" question with no real answer. Personally, I think Unix-derived operating systems (Linux, BSD, Mac) are better programming environments because they grew out of a grass-roots culture that was more interested in doing things the "right way" for the programmer. Windows, on the other hand, is a commercial OS with the first priority of making money and that results in poor decisions and an environment with constant unwanted changes.

reddit.com › r/learnpython › python on linux

r/learnpython on Reddit: Python on linux

May 16, 2025 -

Does anyone know how to get the newer versions on linux? Because I only have python 3.11.2 but i need 3.13 or 3.14

pyenv ( https://github.com/pyenv/pyenv ) is probably the easiest and allows for switching between versions for different projects

You can always install from source. If you are running Debian or one of it's derivatives, use the deadsnakes PPA.

Find elsewhere

Google Bing Mojeek

reddit.com › r/learnpython › is it worth installing a linux distro for programming in python?

r/learnpython on Reddit: Is it worth installing a linux distro for programming in Python?

January 15, 2017 -

Hello r/learnpython !

I have recently started programming in Python (which is also my first programming language) and I have done some reading where they say that "you should learn unix", or "install linux", etc and I was wondering, is it really worth installing linux just for python (or programming in general)?

I just want to say space isn't an issue for me. I have a 1TB hard drive so that's more than enough i feel to be able to run Windows and Linux dual booted.

I have read one other reddit thread that suggested using linux like command terminals. Is that also a viable option? What would you guys recommend? In the thread they recommend Cygwin and Git Bash.

Sorry, if this is in the wrong subreddit, I thought this would be the best place since I'm learning python specifically and not other languages (as of yet).

Thanks!

you could install linux in a VM or try a live usb stick to see if you like it, I would say yes it is worth it, but my answer is biased, and I would say try LXLE , but again, its a biased opinion

Generally I would not bother. I think the first thing you should do is install python and start coding. When you figure out what you actually want to do that will answer if you should give Linux a crack.

reddit.com › r/learnpython › windows vs linux for python ?

r/learnpython on Reddit: Windows vs Linux for python ?

September 22, 2019 -

What do you reccomend more and why ? :D

Linux for sure. I cannot stand python development on windows, it feels so, so clunky. Even on windows I try to use WSL whenever I can to imitate the Linux experience. Having access to a Unix terminal is a godsend.

It's much easier in my opinion to set up virtual environments etc in Linux. But windows does have a Linux subsystem now (an instance of debian running on windows, pretty nice to be honest), so if you are only used to windows and don't know a lot of command line, windows could be the best of both right now with that.

reddit.com › r/python › learning python in windows vs linux?

r/Python on Reddit: Learning Python in Windows vs Linux?

July 26, 2020 -

Since my code will probably need to run on Linux machines in the cloud, would it be best for me to learn Python on Linux (even though I know neither at this time)?

I know that some commands (like file paths) are very different on the two operating systems and I am not sure that code that works in Windows will necessarily work in Linux without a lot of modification. Of course, if I use Firebase to store files and data I won't need to worry about paths so much.

Since I am new to Python, learning it and writing my code so that I can deploy it to Google's servers may be better done on Linux, but I am concerned that I am biting off too much to chew learning Python and Linux at the same time.

What would you suggest?

Honestly, Python does a pretty good job of hiding the differences. Stick with what you know, and tackle one major new thing at a time.

Linux is generally a significantly better workflow for developers. However, I’m not sure how learning python while learning linux would go. The basics of both are pretty simple to get down, but hard to master. Either way though, you’ll probably be using linux commands in windows anyway (if you’re using WSL). I hate to answer like this, but it depends. There aren’t that many quirks of python on windows vs on linux that I know of, but there may be some that I’m missing. I’d say try to learn the basics of linux commands (cd, ls, pwd, rn, etc) in WSL while trying python and see how you do. If you think you can handle it while learning python, then try full linux. Although this is definitely just my opinion and how’d do it, what works for me might not work for you

reddit.com › r/learnpython › best linux distro/ terminal

r/learnpython on Reddit: Best Linux Distro/ Terminal

January 10, 2021 -

What is the the best Linux distro/ terminal to use to program pyhton? More specifically what did you use when you started out?

I’m just getting started with python and was wondering.

Edit: Should I use windows or Linux? What would be some differences (pros/cons)?

There's no best for python. All OSes work equally well, as long as they are maintained. I recommend Linux Mint (less flashy, more intuitive) or Ubuntu (more Linux-y) to anyone who wants to start with Linux. If you want to learn python, and not python AND Linux, just use whatever OS you are comfortable with now. Using Linux will not help your python programming.

Plain old Debian is a great Linux distro for first timers or even experienced Linux users, I'd say go with that if you aren't sure. Honestly all you need is a basic text editor, or you can use IDLE which is sometimes bundled with python. Pycharm is the best full on IDE for python, it supports auto-completion and shows syntax errors on a line by line basis before even running the script, it's great!

reddit.com › r/linux › (as a python user) is it time for me to move from windows to linux?

r/linux on Reddit: (As a Python user) is it time for me to move from Windows to Linux?

November 5, 2013 -

So for the last couple of months I've been learning to program in python on a Windows 8 laptop. For the most part, I've been writing scripts in IDLE but recently I have had cause to begin to use the command line which I am finding slightly cumbersome.

In particular, I'm finding that simply following Python documentation often does not work as it should, and that I often need to spend a large amount of time on stackoverflow etc. to find workarounds.

I'm also finding that in much of the documentation, blog postings, youtube videos, and posts in stackoverflow that most developers (say 90%) are working on Linux or OSx. It's often harder to find a solution for certain problems in Windows.

Also, I've observed that there can be quite a bit of extra work getting python up and running in windows. For example, I have had to mess about with Environment Variables so that I can run python from the command line and having done this I'm still running into some problems. On the other hand, I believe that Python comes bundles with most Linux / OSx packages.

So basically, as an outsider looking into Linux I have some questions which I would hope somebody could help with.

what are some general reasons for wanting to move over to Linux?
why am I seeing so many more (Python) developers work in Linux /OSx and so few using Windows?
can you outline any benefits I might begin to feel from programming in python using Linux over Windows?
are there any specific advantages with using Linux over Windows when working with Python web frameworks?
If I wanted to enter the Linux world, how could I proceed with my current laptop. I see two possible options but I don't know much about the pros/cons of either. The first would be to install linux inside a virtual machine. The second would be to install linux (say Ubuntu) onto a usb and just boot it from there.

I'm really excited to hear some thoughts on this. Thanks in advance.

I moved over to linux to better learn python, but ended up staying as I was blown away at the experience. The terminal is just amazing (mainly the sudo apt-get install/ similar commands, which let you download and install programs effortlessly from the command line). The linux experience depends on the Distro (Version or "flavour" of linux) and how much effort you're willing into customizing things to your liking. My favourite feature of most distro's is the workspace and how easily it lets you spread out work to unclutter your screen I imagine because of the different philosophies (and the power of the terminal) between windows and linux. Windows offers programs that work well for the end user, while linux gives you raw access to your files (via terminal with sed/awk/grep/cat/pipes/redirection). Linux lets you better program at a raw, functional level but microsoft lets you program at a more polished yet clunkier level. Not to mention they've probably set their linux up to perfectly suit them Once you get good at traversing the command line, and when you know your shortcuts, you'll be a LOT faster in running/testing/programming. I absolutely recommend a text editor named ViM, the workflow. see kageurufu Whether you want a virtual machine or usb is up to you. Depending on the specs of your machine, it may be better to Live-USB it if you're on a crappier computer. If you have a good comp, try a live machine. I would recommend using 20-30 gigs of your hard drive to fully test drive linux (as in install it and have a blast). ======================== Finally, Your mileage may vary. I went through 10-15 different versions of linux until I found one that met MY needs (Which happened to be Crunchbang (#!)). For beginners I would recommend either Linux Mint or Ubuntu. You can try fedora, which is very nice and well-put together system (from a user standpoint) but the installer is garbage. ElementaryOs is perhaps the easiest and most polished to get into. Crunchbang is just b-e-a-utiful, in function. In reality #! is ugly and grey, but one can easily fix that.

Sigh. Asking r/linux if you should switch to linux is like asking a room full of Mormon missionaries if Jesus might be right for you. Listen OP, if you want to switch to linux in order to to try out linux then more power to you. Certainly every competent developer is going to want at least some experience with unix-based systems and learning how to do things via command line can be an eye-opening experience. And heck, you might even find that you like it better than Windows. HOWEVER, switching to Linux just for Python is a goddam silly reason. Python runs just fine on Windows and tons of Windows developers get along swimmingly with it. If you gain more experience I think you'll actually find that Python works much the same way in either OS. So, I'm guessing that by "mess about with Environment Variables so that I can run python from the command line" you mean you had to add python installation folder to your PATH. If that's the case, all I can say is that fiddling with your PATH is something that most programmers will have to do at some point or another in either OS. What you did isn't "weird" but is in fact perfectly routine for your average developer (though it is indeed annoying that the Windows Python installer doesn't just do it for you). In any case, if it's more than that and you keep having environmental issues then you might want to try a python IDE that will automatically take care of all most of that stuff. I'd recommend pyscripter, which makes it very straightforward to write and run scripts without imposing any kind of project-based structure. It also has a built-in debugger and using a debugger is something you'll want to learn how to do sooner rather than later. You can also try PyCharm Community Edition, which is also free. Now, I don't want to sound too discouraging but I get the impression that you're just starting to learn programming. The thing to keep in mind is that learning how to program is hard and there's nothing about Linux that will magically make it super easy. In fact, switching to Linux is going to involve a whole lot of new stuff that you're going to need to learn that is completely apart and distinct from learning how to code in Python. I'm actually kind of disgusted that no-one bothered to point this out amid the wave of "OF COURSE YOU SHOULD SWITCH TO LINUX!!" comments. In the real world, forcing yourself to learn how to setup and use an entirely new OS is not generally regarded as the best way to go about making it easier to learn how to code. Switching to Linux is a great way to learn about computers in general and to deepen your technical horizons, but it's a shit way to make it easier to learn Python. Also, FYI, there are a few reasons you're seeing more Python developers using Linux/UNIX rather than Windows (though 90% seems too high): Python has its roots in the UNIX world (hence why some things like virtualenv are somewhat clunky on Windows) Python is often used for web development, which very often features servers running Linux since nobody wants to pay for a Windows license for a server when Linux is not only free but also lends itself to having servers that are very easy to set up and administer. (Though note that developers using Windows to write programs that ultimately get deployed to a Linux server is very common in the professional world. The server doesn't necessarily dictate the development environment.) Python, along with shell scripts, are pretty much the glue that holds together a lot of different Linux distributions, so it's omnipresent in the Linux world in a way that it's not on the Windows side of things, which tends to have much less emphasis on scripting languages. To greatly simplify things, getting things done in the Linux world often involves stringing together a bunch of different command-line programs with bits of your own logic thrown in as glue, which is something that Python is particularly good at. On the other hand, getting things done in Windows is more likely to involve programatically interacting with system APIs and class libraries, which is generally move convenient to do in statically typed programming languages like C# or Java. tl;dr learning how set up a virtualenv in Windows is not actually harder than learning how to use a whole new OS

reddit.com › r/linuxquestions › linux and python

r/linuxquestions on Reddit: Linux and Python

December 19, 2023 -

Why is it a sentiment that Linux makes you a better Python programmer?

Where did you hear that? Linux does make for a better programming environment for almost any language, but it doesn't automatically make you a better programmer.

I have never heard of this sentiment, maybe you just misheard the fact that Linux comes pre-installed with python and also you can easily install python modules or whatever they're called from the package manager or pip, which is just a general convenience that Linux provides over windows.

reddit.com › r/learnpython › best way to install latest python on linux?

r/learnpython on Reddit: Best way to install latest Python on Linux?

January 25, 2018 -

I'd like to work with Python3.6 instead of the outdated Python3.5 and Python3.4 that come preinstalled in some of the Linux distros I'm currently using. I'd use three systems: Ubuntu 14.04 and Ubuntu 16.04 on my "working" computers, and Debian 8.10 jessie on my home-server.

I was searching around but found nothing that clear my mind. As I see I could add more recent repositories so my Python gets updated to 3.6, but it seems like it would mess my system.

I just want to keep my default Python versions that came with the system, so nothing is messed up, and then install a third Python version, the latest 3.6.x. Any hint? Thanks.

(BTW, going forward I'll try to use virtualenv on my projects, which I'll be writing in my Ubuntu systems and finally be executed on the Debian server).

Worth to try Anaconda

Is there a technical reason you want to use 3.6? If there's not some sort of dependency issue it's actually probably better to use 3.5

reddit.com › r/learnpython › learning python on window or linux?

r/learnpython on Reddit: Learning Python on window or Linux?

April 20, 2025 -

Not CS major background, I don't know much about Linux, just know there is Linux.

Maybe the post/topic is silly.

I just google that both window and Linux can be installed in PC.

A lot of python course material mentioning Linux.

Question: Is it better to learn Python in Linux environment (I will figure out how to install Linux while keeping Window)? Or it does not matter (Window is fine)?

For learning, either is fine. You can also install WSL and have a Linux environment within Windows. Learning Linux at the same time as you're learning programming basics may be overwhelming.

Given the choice, I'd pick Linux by a longshot. Both will work fine for Python, but software development is just so much better/easier on a *nix system (in my biased opinion).

reddit.com › r/learnpython › what is the best operating system for learning python?

r/learnpython on Reddit: What is the best operating system for learning Python?

January 6, 2023 -

A friend, who is a math teacher, is looking to learn Python. He asked me which OS Python has the least problems with, because he already uses Linux and Windows.

The one you're already using, unless it's something truly weird. Python works great on Linux, MacOS, and even Windows. People who work with Python professionally will have our preferences, but none of these are relevant while first learning the language!

Don't use Mac OS

reddit.com › r/learnpython › pros and cons of switching from windows to linux for python?

r/learnpython on Reddit: Pros and cons of switching from windows to linux for python?

May 9, 2021 -

I recently decided to dig more into the linux community and the OS and I really loved it! After a couple of searches and a bit of discussion on which distribution of linux to pick for programming (I decided to go with fedora, maybe I will switch to ubuntu in the future) I became so eager to install linux and get rid of windows. I don't hate windows but as an OS it is just so cluttered, unpolished, and unstable and I really don't like it that much except when it comes to gaming and since my laptop is so weak it can just run 2D games and simple 3D games that should not be a concern. Anyway, before switching I just wanted to ask the python community, is there something integral and important that I will miss on linux? For example I know some frameworks work only on windows (obviously like win32api or ctypes etc) but I have no idea how many of the frameworks are cross-platform or os-specific. I am know working with kivy and would like to dive more into image processing using scikit-image or opencv. Would image processing be a problem on linux? Or basically, how much will I gain or lose switching from windows to linux?

You lose and gain very little to nothing, from a python point of view. Pure python programs and modules are "os agnostic", meaning they don't know or care what the OS is. numpy, opencv, kivy, etc are not pure python, but they are available for all OSes. There's linux equivalents to win32api. Nearly all IDEs and other tools are available for all OSes. That said many people, including myself, find programming in general much nicer on Linux.

unpolished You are in for a surprise with linux... Why did you go with fedora? I'd recommended Ubuntu 20.04 LTS. The reason being the popularity of the OS, and the availability of guides and issues solving posts online for everything there. Besides the obvious that you listed, most modules work on linux too, you should not have an issue on that front. But you will lose a lot of time getting used to linux.

reddit.com › r/learnpython › linux why python

r/learnpython on Reddit: Linux why Python

October 26, 2020 -

Hi,

I was just wondering why Linux has so many applications written in Python instead of for example another OpenSource Programming Language like Java. Apparently Python was already popular in the early days of Linux.

Is there a specific reason for this?

Python 2.x was more pleasant than Java <7, and most freely available languages at the time. Java had an early reputation for slowness. Sun sued Microsoft over Java, kicking it off Windows by default. As Python complexified, and Java improved, Oracle took over Java. Oracle sued Google over Java in Android. Free people don't like Oracle, nobody likes a big language implementation being pulled from under them, and nobody likes risks of being sued. That probably disuaded a bunch of people over the years. Java was always positioned as a big-company teamwork language, many open-source projects start out as a single-person-hobby-project, hobbyists often prefer nice languages not enterprise ones.

Scripting has always been a natural use case in Linux, so that's why scripting oriented languages like Perl and Python were also popular right from the start. It would make little sense to script in Java for example, and GUI programs can also be made in better supported languages like C and C++.