Exploring the Synergy between Linux, Nix, and Computer Engineering Education

Within the university setting, Linux is treated more as a burdening task than a helpful tool. This is something that can be improved with the help of different pieces of software, a very good example being Nix. To encourage less "head on the cheese grader" time, and more "actually making progress" time is the goal for any team. As a computer engineering student in his last semester, I can tell you that setting up environments for various students and faculty for various projects became the norm, with no clear way to explain why or how it works. In this presentation, we will explore the synergy that is Linux, Nix, and Computer Engineering. With these tools, we can enable engineers to use tools that work within the same environment as the developer. Setting up environments, creating collaborations with other majors/backgrounds, and having software tools "work outta box" are just a few of the encouraging motives. The idea is to look at the bigger picture of closing the gap between the engineers and the developers.