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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 13 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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[–] 0t79JeIfK01RHyzo@lemmy.ml 3 points 3 hours ago (1 children)

Sometimes it's specific to the application. As an example, yt-dlp is redistributed by Canonical, and they usually maintain stable packages, but their versions seem to lag like 6 months. This might be related to their desire for stability, or maybe just align to their release cycle. I don't know.

The issue is that yt-dlp needs to be updated more frequently because websites break their methods of downloading, so the version that follows the latest version seems to work better.

I don't think using PPA's is usually recommended, (like in the photo) so I think I would recommend flatpaks first if the developer of the application maintains one themselves. (and you want to follow later releases.) Though, the first time I had to use flatseal to fix an application, I felt like flathub was a failed platform.

[–] tinsuke@lemmy.world 2 points 3 hours ago

For yt-dlp specifically, there is a stable backport that is fairly up-to-date: https://tracker.debian.org/pkg/yt-dlp

It doesn't yet have yesterday's version, but the previous version was made available 3 days after it was released.