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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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As a rule of thumb, should I pick the Debian package or the Flatpak version of a given programme? (lemmy.org)

submitted 6 hours ago by Cekan14@lemmy.org to c/linux@lemmy.ml

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I run Debian 13 Stable with KDE Plasma, and have Flathub enabled on KDE's Discover software store. I have a slight idea of the difference between the two: that Debian packages share system libraries and are therefore lighter in storage but do require password to access those shared libraries and could therefore become a security hazard if installing from an untrusted source, while Flatpaks have all they need and don't require password to install, being more secure that way, but, as a consequence, consume more storage. Also noticeable is the fact that, for some programmes, the Flatpak version tends to be more recent and it therefore becomes the obvious choice when looking for the latest software.

However, I was looking at the SuperTux game, and what's curious about this is that both, the Debian package and the Flatpak are version 0.6.3, while consuming 6.7 and 259,9 MB of storage respectively.

So should the obvious choice here be the Debian package, or would you still go for the Flatpak? I am not asking this because I'm particularly interested on this game as much as to learn more about the two system packages and whether my assumptions are correct or I am missing something.

Thank you and have a nice weekend!

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[–] fizzle@quokk.au 1 points 5 hours ago (1 children)

For desktop things, appimage is my preference. Then flatpak then debian repo.

For cli things, if its a really old school low level utility then debian repo, otherwise nix.

[–] throwaway87458904@programming.dev 5 points 5 hours ago (1 children)

Interesting. Can you help me understand the logic here?

[–] fizzle@quokk.au 4 points 4 hours ago (1 children)

Not really, just my anecdotal experience of which package systems are most reliable.

AppImages seem to be the most likely to be directly supported by project maintainers. Flatpaks seem to be third party.

Nix is a great package manager but I haven't had much luck with desktop applications from nix.

[–] throwaway87458904@programming.dev 2 points 4 hours ago

Alright. Thank you!