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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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Opinion Alert! Universal Package Managers Are (mostly) Unnecessary (thekernal.xyz)

submitted 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 years ago

I disagree with the one, especially with the arguments, that I found weak.

The Article ignores some advantages of universal package mangers and ignores some shortcomings.

As others stated, building from source is not a package manager. It does not manage dependencies, it can be very tricky, it takes a lot of time. If you build from source, you have to install dependencies, often manually. Exotic languages and exotic build scripts can make compiling really time-consuming. Uninstalling is also very complicated. That's what package managers are for.

The stated arguments are only true for free software. I use some closed source software from time to time and I would like to have it up to date.

Speed of UPAs are a problem, but it is a solvable one. It is not inherent to UPAs, that they are slow. It usually arises as trad-off from sandboxing. From a user's perspective, I like to have sandboxed applications. AppImage applications are AFAIK not sandboxed and usually comparably fast.

From a developer's perspective, I would like to push out updates fast and don't rely on some package maintainers. If I publish a new version, I want that all users get that version ASAP. Debian stable release cycles are just too slow for end-user software. I am a bit envy of the fast update cycles of android play store packages. I wish this would be the new standard in terms of fastness (of pushing updates) and sandboxing.

I want to conclude with an example. GURPS Character Sheet is a software that I like to use. It did not have a fedora packge and installing via alien or compile the sources were a bit of a hassle. Thankfully the developer release an AppImage and now updating and installing is just a lot more simple.