this post was submitted on 23 Feb 2024
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Linux

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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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[–] [email protected] 7 points 8 months ago (3 children)

A bit of history. The first universal packaging format was snap by Canonical and used to be called Click apps and it was made for the Ubuntu mobile OS and later to the Ubuntu desktop. Red Hat in response to that created the FlatPak format. The AppImages are community effort.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

I don't think that matters at this point. Flatpak is widespread and Canonical can't possibly expect the linux crowd to choose the proprietary alternative. I could see snap being the one, had they just handled it differently.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

AppImages long predate Snaps, but yes, Snaps do predate Flatpaks by a few months. There's also Nix packages, which predate all three. Of course, this all matters very little compared to the merits of all four technologies. The heavy dependence on proprietary technology for repositories makes Snap clearly unsuitable to become the universal Linux package format.