Platforms and tools
The events that made me create my homepage are explained in the history of this site.
Development tools
Most development tools that I use are from the GNU Tools suite. For graphical user interface programming these days I use the open source software Qt or the Eclipse IDE for Java development. My current Java environment is openjdk version 16.0.1 2021-04-20, OpenJDK Runtime Environment (build 16.0.1+9-24), OpenJDK 64-Bit Server VM (build 16.0.1+9-24, mixed mode, sharing).
My typesetting system to create all sorts of papers, mathematical or others, including letters, is TeX. I use the TeXLive distribution on my GNU/Linux and Windows systems.
Linux
The only working experience that I have with Linux are the distributions Slackware (1996-2000) and Debian (since 2001). When I started with Linux in 1996, slackware was a widely available distribution and for four years I managed to stay away from other ways of setting things up. Late in 2000 I was convinced of the convenience of debian by an expert.
My first Linux installation in October 1996 has been Slackware 3.0 with Linux Kernel 2.0.0 on the Aptiva Server sentinel (now defunct). It has since then been upgraded several times up to Slackware 3.4 with Kernel 2.0.30. Between 1997 and 2000 several Slackware releases have been installed on various ThinkPads.
In 2001 I startet with Debian 2.2 (‘potato’) with Kernel Version 2.2.17, followed by Debian GNU/Linux 3.0 (‘woody’) with the 2.2.20 kernel in August 2002. Through the years I kept making necessary upgrades to Debian GNU/Linux: Debian 3.1 ‘sarge’, Debian 4 ‘etch’, Debian 5 ‘lenny’, Debian 6 ‘squeeze’, Debian 7 ‘wheezy’, Debian 8 ‘jessie’and Debian 9 ‘stretch’.
Since October 2007 I have a Linux installation on my desktop Linux server inuksuk. It is currently (2023) running under Debian GNU/Linux 13 ‘trixie’ with kernel-release 6.5.0-4-amd64 #1 SMP PREEMPT_DYNAMIC Debian 6.5.10-1 (2023-11-03) x86_64 GNU/Linux. The Webserver is Apache 2.4.58, Web content management system is WordPress 6.4.1, database is MariaDB 10.11.5, PHP is at version 8.2.10 and my repository is git version 2.42.0.
Windows
Since July 2017 my Windows client on yukon is a refurbished Lenovo Thinkcentre M77 running under Windows 10 Professional. The GNU tools are from MSYS2 (including TeXLive built by MSYS2).
OS/2
For 15 years (1988-2003) I used OS/2 on some machine – more on OS/2 platform.