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People have done it. The self-contained application bundles idea that you espouse can be found as Daniel J. Bernstein's "slashpackage" mechanism, from the turn

by JdeBP 9y ago

People have done it. The self-contained application bundles idea that you espouse can be found as Daniel J. Bernstein's "slashpackage" mechanism, from the turn of the century. It gives side-by-side installation of multiple versions of packages and simple packaged files installation, upgrade, and removal procedures. * https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10357816 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10357816 * http://code.dogmap.org/slashpackage/ http://code.dogmap.org/slashpackage/ The ability for users to isolate their own applications from one another is one of the concepts (removing the superuser) that underpins GNU Hurd, where one can sandbox one's own programs using translators and servers that substitute for the root ones. * http://jdebp.eu./FGA/hurd-daemons.html http://jdebp.eu./FGA/hurd-daemons.html

AnIdiotOnTheNet 9y ago
I am aware that people have tried it, ROX Filer knew about AppDirs, I think WindowMaker/GNUStep supported Application Bundles, there are currently (in keeping with Linux Desktop tradition) at least 3 implementations of the concept (FlatPak, Snap, AppImage), all of which are overengineered (but AppImage is the closest to correct by a wide margin). But there is no system I can install today that makes it the primary way of doing things. That's what I'm trying to build, a new OS (or perhaps "operating environment" would be a more precise term), not a "distribution", on top of the Linux kernel, that takes the good ideas that already exists and makes them the primary way of doing things. It's likely that even if I did finish the project people would ignore it. Maybe only I think these are good ideas, maybe I'm missing something, but I don't care. When I look at the future of the desktop operating system I see Windows 10 continuing down its path of becoming increasingly uselessly stupid, and the Linux Desktop, and those two futures make me want to become Amish. I'm building this because if I don't build something like this because if I don't I'll probably just leave computing altogether.

by JdeBP 9y ago

AnIdiotOnTheNet 9y ago

I am aware that people have tried it, ROX Filer knew about AppDirs, I think WindowMaker/GNUStep supported Application Bundles, there are currently (in keeping with Linux Desktop tradition) at least 3 implementations of the concept (FlatPak, Snap, AppImage), all of which are overengineered (but AppImage is the closest to correct by a wide margin). But there is no system I can install today that makes it the primary way of doing things. That's what I'm trying to build, a new OS (or perhaps "operating environment" would be a more precise term), not a "distribution", on top of the Linux kernel, that takes the good ideas that already exists and makes them the primary way of doing things. It's likely that even if I did finish the project people would ignore it. Maybe only I think these are good ideas, maybe I'm missing something, but I don't care. When I look at the future of the desktop operating system I see Windows 10 continuing down its path of becoming increasingly uselessly stupid, and the Linux Desktop, and those two futures make me want to become Amish. I'm building this because if I don't build something like this because if I don't I'll probably just leave computing altogether.