Josh Sled wrote:
> This is something a group like FreeDesktop.Org should be helping to
> solve. A way for a software producer to provide a link/file that the
> distros basically agree upon that will Do The Right Thing: either
> automagically search in synaptic, or select between the appropriate
> .{rpm,yum,sh}, &c. I've seen "solutions" like autopackage and zero
> install, but they are fail.
> http://0install.net/ Coincidentally, I tried out Zero Install recently, and I'm impressed. I'm a long time Debian user, so apt-get is my friend, but the notion of a distributed package system appeals to me. 0install is a very good stab at such a beast. Used with an effective web-of-trust or sandboxing, it (or something like it) could easily be the future (it already has signature). It seems good for producers too, since they don't have to target so many operating systems. It sweeps under the rug some gratuitous distro differences like file system layout (by keeping every app in its own directory). I don't know how it deals with others, like managing /etc and /var. It seems like a good division of labor could evolve, where a distro concentrates on getting the kernel and drivers and everything to work on your machine ("the OS"), and 0install (or whatever) is the entry point for application developers. That makes more sense than having an army of Debian maintainers repackaging every developer's work. Please don't think I am minimizing necessary integration work which distributions achieve, but it is good to take a critical examination of the ecosystem once in a while. -- Anthony Carrico
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