this post was submitted on 26 Jan 2024
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Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).
Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.
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Well if there's an application that the developer only releases a flatpak for, do I have a choice in being one of those million if there's no easy way to compile it myself? What if I'm a newbie linuxer and cannot get all the dev tools installed?
What do you currently do if a developer doesn't package their software for other distros? Maybe they only provide an AUR package or a .deb, so someone else has to package it.
With flatpak the only difference is that a distro independent package exists, that anyone can install. It being possible to do cross-distro apps with a single package doesn't make it any harder for distros to also package it.
I'm not arguing against flatpaks I'm just calling the number suspect to meaningless as a metric.
Thanks, I think I understand now what you mean. I still disagree on the notion that people are forced to use flatpak and that the number is meaningless because of that. People choose to use flatpak because it solves their problem.
I'd say it's similar to many people who use Ubuntu because of its big user base and software support. It's still an achievement to be recognized.
Anyway, I do agree that the number itself isn't really relevant. I'm pretty tired and maybe I'm a bit pedantic, so good night (or have a nice day, depending on your timezone).
There are no cases of this that I know of. There are some developers that don't encourage repackaging their apps, though.
what's your point? if flatpak makes it easier for developers to package their software and easier for users to install it, there's nothing wrong with it being famous
You always have a choice. Just yesterday, I had an app's documentation say "install brew so you can download our application and themes". I noped right out of there and found a different application altogether.