So every time there is glibc / openssl / anything else security update, We will have to update all appimage programs as well ?
Do you have any specific problem with that?
AppImage: Linux apps that run anywhere
11–20 of 241 posts
Re: AppImage: Linux apps that run anywhere
#12Having re-transitioned last year back to the land of Free *nixen after a long stint on OS X, I marvel at how awesome package management is, and wonder how I ever gave it up. Even where I'm now forced to use OS X (work), I try to brew / brew cask everything.
The Windows / Mac distribution model feels more like a necessity on a closed system than something that is ideal.
EDIT: I realize that comment sounds more critical than what I intended. While I have a preference for package management, others clearly don't. Also, I might be inclined to use something like this for fast-moving big apps where I want the newest features. I could see trying Guile-Emacs or QGIS this way.
Re: AppImage: Linux apps that run anywhere
#13As a user, I want to download an application from the original author, and run it on my Linux desktop system just like I would do with a Windows or Mac application. Please pull over. I want off this ride. Why the hell are we regressing to shipping around hackily built binaries?
Because users and developers both want to be able to download and use new versions of software at a release cadence that makes sense for that application. The "every application gets the same release cadence no matter what" approach only appeals to people making distros.
So, the problem is not package managers per se, but the velocity of updates? Fix that instead? (see Arch Linux).
Re: AppImage: Linux apps that run anywhere
#14As a user, I want to download an application from the original author, and run it on my Linux desktop system just like I would do with a Windows or Mac application. Please pull over. I want off this ride. Why the hell are we regressing to shipping around hackily built binaries?
It's possible that they don't like the potential for walled gardens like those being erected in windows or mac-land. I don't like a bunch of binaries either, but I also don't like the app-store-ification of desktops.
Re: AppImage: Linux apps that run anywhere
#15One of the best things about Linux systems is having this huge pool of apps that you update centrally that are guaranteed to work on your system.
This is a backwards step, if anything.
Re: AppImage: Linux apps that run anywhere
#16So every time there is glibc / openssl / anything else security update, We will have to update all appimage programs as well ?
Do you have any specific problem with that?
The problem with that should be obvious. Package managers can, right now, update the library that multiple applications use without updating the applications/executables too. One update rather than hundreds or thousands.
You could also just not update, but then you'll have massive security holes in your computer.
There's a reason Linux adopted the shared library model.
Re: AppImage: Linux apps that run anywhere
#17So every time there is glibc / openssl / anything else security update, We will have to update all appimage programs as well ?
Do you have any specific problem with that?
I'm not hrtghrth3, so can't speak for him... but..
Yes, I have a problem with that. I trust I can count on Debian/Ubuntu/RHEL will ship a new package for every critical CVE promptly, without forcing me to upgrade to the latest upstream version. I have zero faith upstream maintainers will do the same - which leaves me with two choices
1) Pretend there is no CVE
2) Use the latest app version, bringing with it all new bugs, workarounds, incompatibilities and so forth - and hey, the latest version might not even have the fixed code in it.
Re: AppImage: Linux apps that run anywhere
#18As a user, I want to download an application from the original author, and run it on my Linux desktop system just like I would do with a Windows or Mac application. Please pull over. I want off this ride. Why the hell are we regressing to shipping around hackily built binaries?
Because users and developers both want to be able to download and use new versions of software at a release cadence that makes sense for that application. The "every application gets the same release cadence no matter what" approach only appeals to people making distros.
People making distos, as well as anyone who has been bitten by unreproducible binaries generated by hand-crafted/manually driven build processes.
When I install software from a distro, it's been vetted and I can safely assume the software has a sane reproducible build process, or at a minimum, has had a sane reproducible build process added by the package maintainer.
If a new standard wants to solve that process, I'm all for it, but I demand reproducibility (or somebody to hold financially reaponsible, in the case of closed source)in my software builds.
Re: AppImage: Linux apps that run anywhere
#19As a user, I want to download an application from the original author, and run it on my Linux desktop system just like I would do with a Windows or Mac application. Please pull over. I want off this ride. Why the hell are we regressing to shipping around hackily built binaries?
Because users and developers both want to be able to download and use new versions of software at a release cadence that makes sense for that application. The "every application gets the same release cadence no matter what" approach only appeals to people making distros.
Nothing in using the distro's packaging formats forces you to release only at the same time as the distro.
Re: AppImage: Linux apps that run anywhere
#20So every time there is glibc / openssl / anything else security update, We will have to update all appimage programs as well ?
Follow-up question: is there a built-in app update mechanism? If not, this isn't really a replacement for package systems.