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I wish there was a better divide between "system" and "other" software in Linux distributions. The BSDs, for example, keep all of the system stuff in /usr, /et
by Mister_Snuggles 10y ago
I wish there was a better divide between "system" and "other" software in Linux distributions.
The BSDs, for example, keep all of the system stuff in /usr, /etc, /bin, etc, and any extra stuff you install from ports or packages ends up in /usr/local.
It looks like Snaps are a way of accomplishing much the same thing (and more) in the Linux world.
- evand 10y agoExactly. Snaps mostly avoid polluting the filesystem the way debs and other package formats do. You still have systemd jobs in /etc and seccomp rules in /var/lib/snapd, but the rest lives in /snap/$app_name/$revision with data in /var/snap/$app_name.
- lmm 10y ago> The BSDs, for example, keep all of the system stuff in /usr, /etc, /bin, etc, and any extra stuff you install from ports or packages ends up in /usr/local. Which is awful, because it means stuff you install from ports ends up in the same place as hand-compiled programs and there's no way to tell them apart. A distinction between "system" and "ports" is maybe sort of useful I guess (though I'm not sure exactly what I'm supposed to be gaining from it), but the distinction between automatically-managed-at-all and not is far far more important.
- Mister_Snuggles 10y agoThe problem I have with Linux distributions in general is that applications are too infrequently updated. Of course, you can add extra repos to get these updated applications but then you end up with a horrible mix of base-system stuff plus 3rd-party stuff. BSD sidesteps this problem, but introduces the one you mention. It sounds like snaps will potentially solve both problems.