Linux

47948 readers

2145 users here now

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).

Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.

Rules

Posts must be relevant to operating systems running the Linux kernel. GNU/Linux or otherwise.
No misinformation
No NSFW content
No hate speech, bigotry, etc

Related Communities

Community icon by Alpár-Etele Méder, licensed under CC BY 3.0

founded 5 years ago

MODERATORS

AgreeableLandscape@lemmy.ml

nooter692@lemmy.ml

MarcellusDrum@lemmy.ml

cypherpunks@lemmy.ml

cyclohexane@lemmy.ml

d3Xt3r@lemmy.nz

-14

Did I just solve the packaging problem? (please feel free to tell me why I'm wrong) (feddit.uk)

submitted 5 months ago by theshatterstone54@feddit.uk to c/linux@lemmy.ml

14 comments fedilink hide all child comments

You know what I just realised? These "universal formats" were created to make it easier for developers to package software for Linux, and there just so happens to be this thing called the Open Build Service by OpenSUSE, which allows you to package for Debian and Ubuntu (deb), Fedora and RHEL (rpm) and SUSE and OpenSUSE (also rpm). And then the dudes that do AUR packages can take a deb package and write a PKGBUILD that installs it on Arch and Artix. I think I just solved the universal packaging problem.

And maybe we can get OBS to add PKGBUILD support....

Also, feel free to let me know what you think about it as I'm genuinely curious: did I miss anything obvious? Thanks

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments

[–] ulkesh@beehaw.org 4 points 5 months ago (1 children)

The way I see it, the issue here is that everyone is trying to solve packaging from the developer perspective. I understand why they do, but the only way to solve this is to instead look at it from the user’s perspective.

Apps should be dead simple to find, dead simple to install, dead simple to maintain and use, and dead simple to remove.

This is why snap and flatpak and appimage are things. The problem here is that they each have various issues within them that break one or more of those tenets from the user’s perspective.

Trying to resolve packaging by going back to same methods that have existed for decades and wrapping them in a bow may help developers in some fashion, but the end users are still going to lament dealing with apps on Linux because it’s not solved — for them.

[–] digdilem@lemmy.ml 1 points 5 months ago

I like this perspective, but it's the developers who get to choose in the world of FOSS software, and I suspect most would rather develop than package.

Learning the different formats, methods and then committing to re-packaging every update for eternity when you're often a single person or a very small group is a big ask on top of developing the software too, so they're going to select a method that's easiest for them.

So if there was a user-led method, it would still need to appeal to developers as well.