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Arbythecoder
Arbythecoder

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I Was Told Linux Was Outdated in 2023. Here's What Actually Happened.

#linux #devops #cloud #career

Spoiler alert: The critics were wrong. Very wrong. Here's the data.

The Comment That Made Me Laugh (Then Wait Two Years)

November 2023. I published an article about Linux shell scripting for DevOps beginners.

The article did well - 12,334 views, lots of engagement. But the comments? Oh, the comments were spicy.

One reader wrote: "Linux is outdated for DevOps."

Another person (a staff engineer, mind you) said: "Just use Python everywhere. Bash is too basic. After 15 lines, it becomes a nightmare. No type system, no data structures, nothing."

I read every comment. Bookmarked them. But I didn't reply.

Why? Because I've learned something in my years as a DevOps engineer: when people are passionate about technology debates, data speaks louder than arguments.

So I waited. Two whole years.

Fast forward to October 2025. I pulled the latest industry reports, job market data, and adoption statistics.

Let me tell you what I found. (Spoiler: those critics? Yeah, they might want to check the 2025 numbers.)

The Data Doesn't Care About Opinions

Look, I'm not here to start internet beef. But when someone says something is "outdated," there are two possible realities:

  1. They're right, and the technology is declining
  2. They're wrong, and you have receipts

Let's check the receipts.

The Linux Market Went UP (Like, Way Up)

2025 Linux market: $9.1 billion

2029 projection: $18.73 billion

Annual growth rate: 19.8%

(Source: SQ Magazine Linux Statistics 2025, August 2025)

Let me break this down in simple terms: Linux isn't dying. It's growing at nearly 20% every year.

That's not "outdated." That's explosive.

More Companies Use Linux Now Than in 2023

Here's what changed between 2023 and 2025:

DevOps teams using Linux: Went from ~60% to 68.2% (+13.7%)

Enterprise adoption: Jumped from 51.6% to 61.4% (+19%)

Web servers running Linux: Up from ~75% to 78.3% (+4.4%)

Every. Single. Metric. Went. Up.

(Source: SQ Magazine Linux Statistics 2025)

The Job Market Tells the REAL Story

When I want to know if a technology is relevant, I don't ask Twitter. I check job postings.

78% of DevOps jobs require Linux skills in 2025

71% specifically ask for shell scripting

Salary bonus: $12,000-$18,000 higher if you know Linux

(Source: LinkedIn Job Market Analysis Q1 2025)

Now, I don't know about you, but companies don't pay extra for "outdated" skills. They pay for skills they desperately need.

Then Three Things Happened That Nobody Saw Coming

While we were busy debating in comment sections, the industry did three things that made Linux even MORE relevant.

1. Google Released Distroless Containers (And Broke Everyone's Python Scripts)

In 2024, Google's Distroless project became the new security standard for containers.

What's Distroless?

Imagine a container with ONLY your application. No extra tools. No package manager. No shell (well, sort of). And definitely no Python installed by default.

Why does this matter?

Size difference:

  • Regular Debian container: 124 MB
  • Alpine Linux: 5 MB
  • Google Distroless: 2 MB

That's 98% smaller!

Who's using it?

  • Microsoft uses it for their .NET containers
  • Google uses it for internal production
  • Thousands of companies adopted it for security

(Source: iximiuz Labs, January 2025; Docker Blog, May 2025)

Here's the funny part: Remember those folks who said "just use Python for everything"?

Yeah, about that...

Distroless containers don't have Python. Want to add it? Cool, add 900 MB to your image.

Suddenly, that "outdated" Bash knowledge became very valuable. Because guess what works in distroless? Shell scripts.

2. Platform Engineering Showed Up (Paying 20% More Than DevOps)

In 2024-2025, a new job role appeared: Platform Engineer.

What do they do?

They build internal platforms that let developers deploy stuff without waiting for the ops team. Think of it like building roads and bridges so everyone can move faster.

Notable examples:

  • Spotify created Backstage (now used by thousands of companies)
  • Netflix built Spinnaker (their deployment tool)

Both run on Linux. Both need Linux skills.

Here's the interesting part about money:

According to the Kube Careers Report (Q1 2025):

Platform Engineer average salary: $172,038

DevOps Engineer average salary: $143,653

Difference: Platform Engineers make 20% more

(Source: Kube Careers State of Kubernetes Job Market Report Q1 2025)

And guess what Platform Engineers need to know? Python, Go, Kubernetes... and Bash (yes, it's explicitly listed in job requirements).

The highest-paid DevOps-related role in 2025 requires the skills people called "outdated" in 2023.

Let that sink in.

3. AI/ML Went All-In on Linux

87.8% of AI/ML workloads run on Linux.

(Source: SQ Magazine 2025)

Think about it:

  • Google trains TensorFlow on Linux
  • Meta runs PyTorch on Linux
  • OpenAI trains GPT models on Linux clusters

New Linux distros launched just for AI work:

  • Ubuntu AI (with TensorFlow pre-installed)
  • Fedora AI (optimized for ML)
  • Pop!_OS AI (for LLM training)

The entire AI revolution? Yeah, it's happening on Linux.

But Wait - Were the Critics Partially Right?

Look, I'm not here to say everyone was 100% wrong. Let's be honest about this.

When Python Absolutely Wins

Python is genuinely better than Bash for:

✅ Complex applications (100+ lines of code)

✅ Working with APIs and JSON

✅ Data processing and analysis

✅ Machine learning pipelines

✅ Anything with complicated data structures

If you're building a proper application, use Python. No argument there.

When You Can't Escape Shell Scripts

But here's what the critics missed: Not everything needs to be a complex application.

You NEED shell scripts for:

1. Container Entrypoints

Every Docker container needs an entrypoint. Most use shell scripts. Here's a simple one:

#!/bin/sh
# Check if database is initialized
if [ ! -f "$PGDATA/initialized" ]; then
    echo "Initializing database..."
    initdb
    touch "$PGDATA/initialized"
fi
exec postgres
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Clean. Simple. Works everywhere.

2. CI/CD Pipelines

According to Docker's 2025 report:

  • 40% of developers use GitHub Actions (runs shell commands)
  • 39% use GitLab CI (defaults to shell)
  • 36% use Jenkins (shell script steps)

Every major CI/CD tool speaks shell by default.

3. Cron Jobs

Shell script startup time: 0.001 seconds

Python script startup time: 0.050-0.150 seconds

That's 50-150x slower for Python!

For a job running every minute (1,440 times daily), Python wastes 72-216 seconds just in startup time. Every. Single. Day.

4. Quick System Tasks

Need to check if a service crashed and restart it?

#!/bin/bash
if ! systemctl is-active --quiet nginx; then
    systemctl restart nginx
    logger "Nginx auto-restarted"
fi
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Five lines. Done. Ship it.

The Truth Nobody Wants to Hear

You need BOTH Python and Bash.

It's not a competition. It's a toolkit.

Use Python for complex logic. Use shell for system glue. Know when each makes sense.

The Real Numbers: 2023 vs 2025

Let me show you what changed while we were debating:

What We're Measuring 2023 2025 Change
DevOps teams using Linux ~60% 68.2% +13.7% ↑
Companies using Linux 51.6% 61.4% +19% ↑
Web servers on Linux ~75% 78.3% +4.4% ↑
Cloud developers preferring Linux ~85% 90.1% +6% ↑
IT companies using containers 80% 92% +15% ↑

Every metric went up. Not one went down.

(Sources: SQ Magazine, Docker State of App Dev 2025, Linux Statistics 2025)

What Big Companies Actually Do

Let's talk about what real companies with real money actually chose:

Netflix

  • Runs massive Python apps... on Linux servers
  • Built Spinnaker (deployment automation) - Linux-based
  • Handles billions of streams daily on Linux infrastructure

Spotify

  • Backend: Python + Linux
  • Created Backstage - the platform engineering standard
  • Used by thousands of companies globally

Google

  • Created Distroless (the security standard)
  • Co-created Kubernetes (runs only on Linux)
  • All internal infrastructure: Linux

Microsoft

  • Uses Distroless for .NET images
  • Azure runs Linux containers
  • Even Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) exists now

Even Microsoft - yes, Microsoft - builds products on Linux now.

If the company that made Windows is using Linux, maybe it's not outdated?

What This Means for Your Career

Here's my practical advice if you're in DevOps or thinking about it:

Learn Linux Basics (It's Not Optional)

Not because it's trendy. Because 68.2% of DevOps teams use it and 78% of jobs require it.

Focus on:

  • Basic commands (ls, cd, grep, awk)
  • Simple shell scripts (loops, if statements)
  • Understanding containers (how Linux makes them work)
  • File permissions and processes

You don't need to be a Linux guru. You need to be comfortable.

Learn Python Too

This isn't either/or. Learn both.

  • Python for complex problems
  • Shell for quick automation
  • Know which to use when

Consider Platform Engineering

If you're early in your career, this is where the growth is:

  • 11.47% of Kubernetes jobs are platform roles now
  • $172,038 average salary (20% higher than DevOps)
  • Growing field: 80% of companies will have platform teams by 2026

(Source: Gartner prediction, Kube Careers Q1 2025)

My Final Thoughts (Real Talk)

Two years ago, someone said Linux was outdated. That Python would replace everything.

Here's what actually happened:

  • Linux market grew 19.8% annually
  • DevOps Linux adoption increased 13.7%
  • A new role emerged paying $172K (requiring Linux)
  • Google made containers that force shell scripting
  • 78% of DevOps jobs now require Linux

The critics weren't just wrong. The complete opposite happened.

And here's the thing that makes me laugh: while we were debating in comment sections, the industry quietly decided.

  • Microsoft chose distroless containers
  • Google standardized on Linux
  • Spotify built Backstage (on Linux)
  • Netflix scaled on Linux
  • AI companies trained models on Linux

The debate is over. Linux won.

Not because I said so. Because that's what the Fortune 500, the job market, and the data say.

One Last Thing

To that staff engineer who said Bash was "too basic" - I get it. You were partially right.

Bash isn't great for complex applications. Python is better for that.

But you missed something important: Not everything needs to be complex.

Sometimes you just need to check if a file exists. Restart a service. Run a backup.

Bash does that in 4 lines. Python needs imports, error handling, and 25 lines.

The best engineers don't pick sides. They pick the right tool.

And in 2025, Linux and shell scripting are still very much the right tools for a lot of jobs.

The data doesn't lie. The market has spoken.

About Me: I'm a DevOps & Cloud Engineer making infrastructure and cloud concepts simple. 19K+ followers on Dev.to | 85K+ article reads. I write tutorials that actually help you ship code.

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Let's Discuss: What's your take? Are Linux skills still essential in 2025, or are higher-level tools making them less important? Drop your thoughts below 👇

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