The package formats Flatpaks and Snaps

Ivan Mateev, 123RF.com

Sweet Wrappers

Ferdinand Thommes

These package systems have names that make them sound like they could be crunchy candy bars, but in fact, they are formats that could revolutionize software installation.

An old adage says there is nothing new under the sun, and to a certain extent, this could be true when applied to the subject matter of the this article. Formats for packaging software are as old as software itself. The formats commonly in use today include DEB from Debian and RPM from Red Hat. These two formats have divvied up much of the Linux world between themselves.

When these formats are used, individual package components like binaries, libraries, configuration, and documentation are distributed across the entire directory structure during installation. The distribution is carried out according to the Filesystem Hierarchy Standard (FHS) [1], and some of the placements are not always desirable. This is because the structure was based on needs for limited resources that existed in the early years of Unix development [2].

Nothing New

For a long time now, it has been clear due to operating systems like GoboLinux, NixOS, and NeXTSTEP that this structure doesn't need to stay this way. The approach behind these operating systems is to package an application with its dependencies and manage everything together. The new formats function according to the same principle, and they reveal advantages and disadvantages when put to practical use.

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