Flatpaks / Snaps / AppImages aren't the solution

Posted by SaltyMaybe7887@reddit | linux | View on Reddit | 61 comments

One major issue with Linux distributions is that for each piece of software, there's a package for Debian, Arch, Fedora, Ubuntu, etc. Binaries are usually compiled dynamically linked (as opposed to statically linked), which means the libraries aren't contained in the binaries themselves, rather they're linked to system libraries. Therefore, you can't just run a binary from your Arch system on a Debian-based system. Many people say the solution to this issue is Flatpak, Snaps, and AppImages. These don't really address the real problem though. The actual solution is compiling statically linked binaries. This would also make it easier for developers to make binaries for Linux knowing they can be ran on any distribution.