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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.

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Who does flatpak/snap benefit? (lemmy.ml)

submitted 1 year ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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As a user, the best way to handle applications is a central repository where interoperability is guaranteed. Something like what Debian does with the base repos. I just run an install and it's all taken care of for me. What's more, I don't deal with unnecessary bloat from dozens of different versions of the same library according to the needs of each separate dev/team.

So the self-contained packages must be primarily of benefit to the devs, right? Except I was just reading through how flatpak handles dependencies: runtimes, base apps, and bundling. Runtimes and base apps supply dependencies to the whole system, so they only ever get installed once... but the documentation explicitly mentions that there are only few of both meaning that most devs will either have to do what repo devs do—ensure their app works with the standard libraries—or opt for bundling.

Devs being human—and humans being animals—this means the overall average tendency will be to bundle, because that's easier for them. Which means that I, the end user, now have more bloat, which incentivizes me to retreat to the disk-saving havens of repos, which incentivizes the devs to release on a repo anyway...

So again... who does this benefit? Or am I just completely misunderstanding the costs and benefits?

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[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago (3 children)

I'm an Ubuntu user, I've never bothered to try any other distro and probably never will. in essence, I just want my apps to work.

I have spent countless hours hunting down specific debian packages that the application that I want needs. I never wanted to worry about installing dependencies and worrying that they don't interfere with each other in the first place. I really just want my apps to work.

People have complained that snaps have so much bloat, it runs slower, blah blah blah, I don't care. It works and I'm happy.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

flatpak basically does the same thing but with a much better performance and less memory footprint, you could try it on ubuntu.

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