In addition to standardization headaches, the wheel issue discussed is also hindered by using file names as an at least somewhat complex medatata structure's tr

In addition to standardization headaches, the wheel issue discussed is also hindered by using file names as an at least somewhat complex medatata structure's transport. Sure, you can do that, but it's a pain in the ass even if you do a good job. A file name is just one string, after all. This is a somewhat hot take, but I wish there were more widespread use of package repository tools that don't use the dpkg model of "the registry's metadata is baked into a simple file hierarchy". The simplicity and accessibility (I can just browse packages with HTTP/FTP) of that approach is appealing, but it breaks down a lot in cases like this. I don't think it's too opaque or overcomplicated to wish for repository servers that have a pair of access APIs: one to ask the server about metadata/packages matching a set of constraints, and another to download blobs/tarballs/whatever. Docker takes that approach, and it seems to work well. I just wish that instances of this pattern weren't per-language/platform and we had something a little more standardized.