Exploring the new Flatpak and Snap package formats
Conclusions
Flatpak and Snap shake the foundations of the package management system principle, causing tremors among the stalwarts of all current Linux distributions. At first glance, the idea behind these upstart package systems makes good sense: If you are constantly dealing with backports, or if you have to resolve package dependencies manually, provisioning independent containers with applications is certainly an appealing concept.
On closer inspection, however, it turns out that the principle still has some rough edges. Snap and Flatpak are pursuing similar goals and are basically competing approaches. Fedora, the driving force behind Flatpak, insists that their system is more at home on desktops, and Canonical, maintainer of the Snap, touts the benefits of Snap as a tool for server rooms.
The user groups forming up around the Flatpak and Snap communities seem eerily similar to the split between RPM and Dpkg that has inconvenienced the Linux world for decades. It might be more sensible to agree on a common approach and to pursue it. But this hope seems futile given the dynamics of the open source world.
Infos
- RPM: http://rpm.org
- Dpkg: https://wiki.debian.org/dpkg
- Flatpak: http://flatpak.org
- Snap: https://www.ubuntu.com/desktop/snappy
- Cgroups: https://www.kernel.org/doc/Documentation/cgroup-v1/cgroups.txt
- Namespaces: https://lwn.net/Articles/531114/
- Docker: https://www.docker.com
- LXC: https://linuxcontainers.org
- Flatpak backport für Debian Jessie: https://packages.debian.org/jessie-backports/flatpak
- Flatpak for Open Suse Tumbleweed: https://software.opensuse.org/package/flatpak
Hello WorldD-Bus example: http://media.wiley.com/product_ancillary/30/04717761/DOWNLOAD/776130code12(freedesktop).tar.gz- Other Flatpak examples: http://flatpak.org/developer.html
- Snappy Ubuntu Core: https://developer.ubuntu.com/core
- Snapcraft: http://snapcraft.io
- Installing Snapcraft und Snapd: http://snapcraft.io/docs/core/install
- Snap documentation: http://snapcraft.io/docs/build-snaps/
- Snap interfaces: http://snapcraft.io/docs/reference/interfaces
- Snap Store: https://uappexplorer.com/apps?type=snappy
« Previous 1 2 3 4
Buy Linux Magazine
US / Canada
UK / Australia
Direct Download
Read full article as PDF:
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Find SysAdmin Jobs
News
-
LibreOffice 7.5 has Arrived and is Loaded with New Features and Improvements
The favorite office suite of the Linux community has a new release that includes some visual refreshing and new features across all modules.
-
The Next Major Release of Elementary OS Has Arrived
It's been over a year since the developers of elementary OS released version 6.1 (Jólnir) but they've finally made their latest release (Horus) available with a renewed focus on the user.
-
KDE Plasma 5.27 Beta Is Ready for Testing
The latest beta iteration of the KDE Plasma desktop is now available and includes some important additions and fixes.
-
Netrunner OS 23 Is Now Available
The latest version of this Linux distribution is now based on Debian Bullseye and is ready for installation and finally hits the KDE 5.20 branch of the desktop.
-
New Linux Distribution Built for Gamers
With a Gnome desktop that offers different layouts and a custom kernel, PikaOS is a great option for gamers of all types.
-
System76 Beefs Up Popular Pangolin Laptop
The darling of open-source-powered laptops and desktops will soon drop a new AMD Ryzen 7-powered version of their popular Pangolin laptop.
-
Nobara Project Is a Modified Version of Fedora with User-Friendly Fixes
If you're looking for a version of Fedora that includes third-party and proprietary packages, look no further than the Nobara Project.
-
Gnome 44 Now Has a Release Date
Gnome 44 will be officially released on March 22, 2023.
-
Nitrux 2.6 Available with Kernel 6.1 and a Major Change
The developers of Nitrux have officially released version 2.6 of their Linux distribution with plenty of new features to excite users.
-
Vanilla OS Initial Release Is Now Available
A stock GNOME experience with on-demand immutability finally sees its first production release.