GTK indirectly depends on libpng, so that probably wasn't the best example ;) The thing is that Linux distributions traditionally don't make any difference bet

GTK indirectly depends on libpng, so that probably wasn't the best example ;) The thing is that Linux distributions traditionally don't make any difference between the OS and apps. Everything is split into relatively small packages. Like everything this model has some advantages (e.g. security updates) but also some disadvantages (it's harder to distribute/install software outside the distribution).