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Snap/Snappy... Flatpak & the future?
Posted: Tue Nov 20, 2018 7:46 pm
by manyroads
Just curious but... have others noted that Canonical producer of Ubuntu seems to have embarked on an extensive communication effort with respect to Snappy/Snap?
*
https://goo.gl/6S4XMF
Thoughts on this? What do you think Snap/Snappy (or Flatpak for that matter) means to 'other' distros like ours?
Re: Snap/Snappy... Flatpak & the future?
Posted: Tue Nov 20, 2018 8:15 pm
by richb
Don't know about snaps but I stay away from flatpacks. They just bring in too many libraries. An option for flatpacks was added to MXPI for convenience. Our packagers are very good at re-packaging newer app versions for our repos. I prefer that model. Opinions will vary.
More on snaps in MX.
The problem: Snap packages, or more specifically the snapd daemon which manages Snap packages, relies on systemd.
And as you know MX defaults to sysvinit.
https://mxlinux.org/wiki/applications/s ... ages-mx-17
Re: Snap/Snappy... Flatpak & the future?
Posted: Tue Nov 20, 2018 8:41 pm
by manyroads
H richb, No for whatever reason I did not know. Is that true for flatpak as well?
Re: Snap/Snappy... Flatpak & the future?
Posted: Tue Nov 20, 2018 9:45 pm
by skidoo
ManyRoads, although I've read "no, technically, flatpak does not require systemd" I've repeatedly worried that debian's implementation might, or soon will.
Hey, can check easily enough. I did so just now, from an antiX17 system. Launch synaptic, click mark-for-installation flatpak, apply...
...its installation would add only 2 additional dependent packages ("libostree", and "bubblewrap") occupying 3.5Mb additional disk space.
So, nope, flatpak does not require systemd
Re: Snap/Snappy... Flatpak & the future?
Posted: Tue Nov 20, 2018 9:52 pm
by richb
skidoo wrote: ↑Tue Nov 20, 2018 9:45 pm
ManyRoads, although I've read "no, technically, flatpak does not require systemd" I've repeatedly worried that debian's implementation might, or soon will.
Hey, can check easily enough. I did so just now, from an antiX17 system. Launch synaptic, click mark-for-installation flatpak, apply...
...its installation would add only 2 additional dependent packages ("libostree", and "bubblewrap") occupying 3.5Mb additional disk space.
So, nope, flatpak does not require systemd
That is correct no systemd for Flatpak. But when I installed Audaciuos and an icon theme via Flatpak I ended up with an extra 2 GB.
Re: Snap/Snappy... Flatpak & the future?
Posted: Tue Nov 20, 2018 10:12 pm
by manyroads
I tried both... of the two, I do like flatpak better; but the overhead for both seems large. I wonder though if the 'marketing' hype (for both) isn't going to become overwhelming. There are security issues as well that seem to be glossed over.
Re: Snap/Snappy... Flatpak & the future?
Posted: Tue Nov 20, 2018 10:15 pm
by skidoo
What do you think Snap/Snappy [..] means to 'other' distros like ours?
That's a broad question, and the topic is more suitable for discussion within a distro-agnostic venue.
You'll find plenty of well-reasoned (and no-so-well reasoned, but passionate) commentary here:
https://old.reddit.com/r/linux/search?q ... rict_sr=on
and
ycombinator, aka HackerNews
Re: Snap/Snappy... Flatpak & the future?
Posted: Tue Nov 20, 2018 10:39 pm
by manyroads
Thanks @skidoo, the reddit 'stuff' seems better. None of those seem to truly address how distros "not involved" in the development of these technologies might, or might not, want to "take advantage" of either snap or flatpak.
I was simply wondering if folks here have an approach, plan, disinterest or whatever.
Re: Snap/Snappy... Flatpak & the future?
Posted: Tue Nov 20, 2018 11:03 pm
by asqwerth
Void Linux, which uses runit as init manager, has flatpak. So flatpak is not dependent on systemd. I've tested it and it works. But no graphical management tool so you have to use terminal commands .
Re: Snap/Snappy... Flatpak & the future?
Posted: Wed Nov 21, 2018 12:31 pm
by manyroads
I apologize but because we are headed to an MX18 release, bear with me as I hypothesize a bit...
Let's assume we worry about where the Linux world is headed (especially the MX Linux chunk). What happens, when the bulk of our tiny Linux Desktop world:
* expects flatpaks or snaps rather than ‘synaptic’ and its kind?
* and these installs (flatpak & snaps) become pervasive as well as massive opportunity targets for “evil doers”?
* when “these things” don’t get updated/ maintained?
So some strategic questions that come to my mind… (whether we address them or not is up to others and not me)
* Do we (the MX Linux community) have a plan to address the delinquency of flatpak- snap updates?
* Should we warn our users of the risk?
* Should the greater debian community work with the Big Guys (IBM, Red Hat & Ubuntu) to address these issues so we are not blind sided?
* How do we protect our interests?
Or should we just sit back a take what they deliver and live happily ever after?
Back under my rock I go...