What you need for this book
We will install our Odoo server on an Ubuntu or Debian system, but we expect you to use your operation system and programming tools of choice, be it Windows, Mac, or other.
We will provide some guidance on setting up a virtual machine with Ubuntu Server. You should choose a virtualization software to use, such as VirtualBox or VMWare Player; both are available for free. If you are using a Ubuntu or Debian workstation, no virtual machine will be needed.
As you already figured, our Odoo installation will be using Linux, so we will inevitably use the command line. However you should be able to follow the instructions given, even if not familiar with it.
A basic knowledge of the Python programming language is expected. If you're not comfortable with it, we advise you to follow a quick tutorial to get you started. We will also make use of XML, so it is desirable to be familiar with the markup syntax.