For Python, you can get most packages as non-root via `pip install --user $package` - but you are right, you might need root if these packages depend on system libraries (that they often wrap).

However, it maybe should not be a requirement. AFAIK nix allows you to install stuff as a normal user (and so does dnf on Fedora, but it depends on the package).

C++. And it's no problem :) I don't need privileged ports, and I don't need write access to the OS.

Only thing that annoyed me was when I did some work on an internal web tool (php+js) and had no php-fpm & httpd. But by now I've got a container for that.

Well, I suppose if your dependencies are very locked down it might work in C++.

I would guess, though, that having to change the prefix and default locations in all tarballs you download must be quite a pain. You can't install DEBs or any other tools either?

We have all deps in gits. A build tool takes care of everything. I get all necessary source gits checked out, configured (e.g. change prefix) and built. If I change something (which is my job), rebuilding is just a 'make' away; and rebuilds only the changed parts. Pretty frictionless and painless.

We use some external stuff like sqlite, qt,... but that's all versioned in our gits as well (-> easily reproducible builds). Since we sell a commercial product we can't just add random deps anyway. Plus, I think there is very little code that would benefit from being replaced by an external libs.

Relevant tools are on a global package list. We can get stuff added there on a short notice, and with little questions asked. Eg when I needed some lib for a FPGA dev kit that was a matter of minutes.

Uaaah, Firefox on Android is messing up the input again (can only append, not edit). I guess I should just hit that "reply" button then).

That actually sounds pretty cool to work with, then. If you truly have support from the company to work like that... Sadly not how it works in most places