this post was submitted on 26 Jul 2023
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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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I have started using linux for 6 months since I leave Windows and already tried ubuntu, arch and liked mint besides arch AUR be so useful, but because I have had some issues with rolling release I choose mint, and I sometimes need latest package, there is somehow to install without being though appimage and tarball?

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[–] yote_zip@pawb.social 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I forgot about PPAs - I don't normally use Ubuntu-derivatives. PPAs are a little more dangerous if I recall correctly right? Firstly it should be an official PPA from the software developer, and secondly because it's a repo you have to make sure that it isn't going to eventually pull in packages that replace/break your system.

Safety for the ones I've listed:

  • Flatpaks - Containerized, separate from system packages
  • Cargo - Manual compilation, /home installation
  • deb-get - One-off .deb from official source and doesn't try to pull any other dependencies in - worst case you fail the dependency check I think?
  • Homebrew - Pre-compiled binaries or manual compilation if you choose, /home installation with local dependency network
  • Nix Package Manager - Roughly the same as Homebrew, /home installation
  • bin - Probably a single statically-linked executable, /home installation
  • Docker - Containerized, separate from system
  • Compile and install it yourself - Highest potential for things to go wrong as you're messing with system packages and probably working off of some developer's questionable compilation instructions (or even lack thereof).

Worst thing about PPAs is their maintainers don’t keep up with the base Ubuntu version and then you have to disable the PPA on the next version upgrade, or you end up seeing someone with repositories for Ubuntu 16.04 on 22.04 and wondering why apt is returning errors. Containers are a much better modern solution.