Snaps

[jglen4902]

I just want to understand how the snap packages will fit into future versions of an *buntu.

Specifically, will snaps be installed by default or will there be an opt-out process?

Personally, I am of the opinion that apt using .deb packaging is a superior method of installing software and updates. I truly have no problem with having snap versions of packages available to users - including me - but I think that being required to use a snap package would be problematic.

[jglen4902]

So pre-emptive strike "sudo apt autoremove --purge snapd"

When I install 20.04LTS, I'll do that again, until Kubuntu 20.04 (in my case) no longer works. Then I'll just move on

[mörgæs]

Yes, and if you after that inspect what

sudo apt install <packagename>

is going to do you will be warned before snapd is reintroduced.

[yaminb]

Obviously people have their preferences, but from what I've read the plan is for 'applications' not part of the 'core' to be distributed by SNAPs.

I am a fairly new Ubuntu user, and so far I have nothing but good experiences with SNAPs (19.10).
One of my most recent was when LibreOffice updated via apt and suddenly I had all these errors. I tried debugging it for a bit, but couldn't get it fixed. I just removed libreoffice and installed it via a SNAP. Everything fixed and the libreoffice SNAP seems to work fine. Where possible, I've removed the apt versions and installed the SNAP ones (that have official SNAPs)

Are there parts of SNAP that worry me?
Yes. I really don't understand why the developers is so insistent on not allowing users to choose not to update. I understand their desire to make sure people keep things up to date. I don't understand not giving advanced users the ability not to.
There's just going to be use cases where that's what people want to do and it just seems like they're driving more people away from SNAP when it's a just a good way to distribute apps.
This post really sums up a really good use case:
https://forum.snapcraft.io/t/disabli...from-store/707
I posted there as well.
https://forum.snapcraft.io/t/disabli...-store/707/256

I also think it's a little too easy to install 'unofficial' snaps and there's a real danger there for things like malware...

But for me as a conscious home user, these issues don't really apply, so I'm fine with it for now. Worst case, I'll move on to flatpaks if SNAP's policies make things unbearable.

[P-I H]

I use both snaps and flatpaks on Ubuntu 20.04.
The first start of the snaps I use, gnome-calculator and gnome-log, have a little delay and the themes aren't correct. These are problems I can accept.
I'm using these flatpaks, Spotify, Steam, Handbrake, VLC and Kodi. All works very well, but the theme used in Kodi isn't OK.

[deadflowr]

Not support
Thread moved to Ubuntu, Linux and OS Chat

[jglen4902]

Not support
Thread moved to Ubuntu, Linux and OS Chat

Thanks for moving this to the right forum.

[jglen4902]

Obviously people have their preferences, but from what I've read the plan is for 'applications' not part of the 'core' to be distributed by SNAPs.

I am a fairly new Ubuntu user, and so far I have nothing but good experiences with SNAPs (19.10).
One of my most recent was when LibreOffice updated via apt and suddenly I had all these errors. I tried debugging it for a bit, but couldn't get it fixed. I just removed libreoffice and installed it via a SNAP. Everything fixed and the libreoffice SNAP seems to work fine. Where possible, I've removed the apt versions and installed the SNAP ones (that have official SNAPs)

Are there parts of SNAP that worry me?
Yes. I really don't understand why the developers is so insistent on not allowing users to choose not to update. I understand their desire to make sure people keep things up to date. I don't understand not giving advanced users the ability not to.
There's just going to be use cases where that's what people want to do and it just seems like they're driving more people away from SNAP when it's a just a good way to distribute apps.
This post really sums up a really good use case:
https://forum.snapcraft.io/t/disabli...from-store/707
I posted there as well.
https://forum.snapcraft.io/t/disabli...-store/707/256

I also think it's a little too easy to install 'unofficial' snaps and there's a real danger there for things like malware...

But for me as a conscious home user, these issues don't really apply, so I'm fine with it for now. Worst case, I'll move on to flatpaks if SNAP's policies make things unbearable.

I get it. A snap is completely self-contained, and therefore does not require use of common Linux libraries and modules and may duplicate many of these with its own such files in its installed container. On the plus side, the actual application could be a more advanced version than might be found in a .deb package. On the minus side, a snap container is inefficient in terms of the space that could be taken up by the libraries and modules that duplicate common files and files found in other snap containers.

I can hear all the arguments about storage is cheap, and the advantages of "up to date" application versions. What I suspect will happen is that either applications will be installed in the user's home or in /opt and that permissions could become - cloudy. Or in the case of a multi-user Linux install a lot of duplication of application installations.

Maybe all that is being worked out, or maybe it already has. In my use case, I am less concerned about the latest and greatest versions of applications. I only install LTS versions of the distro, anyway. And maybe the *buntus are on the way to becoming rolling update distros. And maybe I'm just an old curmudgeon.

[CatKiller]

Specifically, will snaps be installed by default or will there be an opt-out process?

They're already installed by default. Canonical really want them to succeed, which means they need real-life usage. It's an annoyance, but I can see why they did it.

Maybe all that is being worked out, or maybe it already has.

They've already improved a lot since they were first introduced. Things like being able to write to other locations, for example, seems to be much better than it used to be.

For the use case of a brand new user that wants all their software to be installed from the same place and kept up to date in one go - even if that software is proprietary or niche - they're already useful. There are some definite limitations and rough edges to them, and I don't use them because I'm comfortable adding PPAs or whatever to get standard packages. Not all users would be, and not all software will ever get a PPA.

[Tadaen_Sylvermane]

I don't use many snaps intentionally. Just the LXD container daemon is in a snap for me. I found this easiest to do as I was testing between Ubuntu & Debian for my server. They needed the same version so it worked out. I don't entirely like the idea of snaps, to much like Windows software for my tastes. But some kind of universal package is going to be required if people want big software on Linux and not "alternatives".