I still don't get the whole #flatpak thing (vs static + dynamic linking). It all seems so difficult and complex. Why not just...
- want a specific version of libfox? -> statically link libfox v6.9
- want per-interface permissions? -> make a new dynamic linker that prompts the user, "do you want to allow this app to access libfox? yes/no" OR have the linker read declarations at package time (allow/deny/ask).
- want a unified api? -> make a new shared library
(1/?)
- want per-file/resource permissions? -> have an interpreter or libc that implements open() et.al. to either ask the user, or reads the declarations made at package time (allow/deny/ask).
Also, #flatpak requires the OS to implement the flatpak runtime. Got a new OS (/distro/DE)? Well now it has to implement the flatpak and dbus apis before flatpaks work, instead of just relying on individual shared libraries.
(1/2?)
I'll always avoid #flatpak when possible.
(Flatpaks are infinity times better than Snaps, those are almost just malware (as of 2019, I haven't checked since...))
@foxxy I'm a big Linux enthusiast but aside from a handful of compsci courses more than a decade ago, I don't really know how the OS works "under the hood."
That having been said, its my intuitive understanding that designing something to be able to run everywhere means it is not optimised for anywhere. Most of the time this is not a problem because disk space and processor cycles are generally abundant, and are increasing faster than Linux's bloat.
However, my highly developed sense of aesthetics is turned on by the simplicity of something the computer runs "natively"
@PetrichorSquirrel Oh noes, I'm resisting the urge to go into detail about how OSes work "under the hood" x3
But also saddened that some are co-opting the terms to instead mean, "everything is Node.JS inside Chrome, running on AI". I reject those new definitions and co-opting.
@foxxy I honestly think the UNIX family of OSes are fascinating, and sometimes I will watch YouTube talks from people who are far more expert than me only to comprehend maybe 20% of it.