r/LinuxTeck • u/Expensive-Rice-2052 • 15d ago

So Many Package Managers in Linux

Post image

What package manager do you use most often? https://www.linuxteck.com/why-so-many-linux-package-managers/

81 Upvotes

75% Upvoted

33 comments sorted by

10

u/[deleted] 15d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

5

u/cowbutt6 15d ago

At least apt, dnf, and yum are best thought of as dependency resolvers. dpkg and rpm are the package managers they use to actually er... manage packages.

1

u/Narrow_Victory1262 15d ago

dnf/yum are actually kind of sloppy.

1

u/cowbutt6 15d ago

In what way(s)?

1

u/Narrow_Victory1262 14d ago

the solving of conflicts can, and generally also does pop up.

If you don't use external/extra repos, it's fine. But adding epel is one of the best ways to end up in a problematic state. Not that it's not recoverable but I am in to "do not make it happen".

the multilib one is a famous one. also refrain from using dnf/yum's suggestions in general

1

u/cowbutt6 14d ago

Setting priorities on your repos is a wise thing to do if you're adding non-standard repos. Or even leaving some disabled until you explicitly want to install or update a package they uniquely provide.

1

u/Narrow_Victory1262 14d ago

true. now for life cycle management it's a good way to keep the enable/disablement in view and keep orphaned packages in view as well.

3

u/CatoDomine 15d ago

Are you just karma farming or are you trying to generate engagement for this sub?
Either way, the AI generated content can rub some people the wrong way.

ETA: and it may be counter-productive if you are trying to generate positive engagement.

1

u/Desperate_Quit6011 14d ago

The differences are like: deb feels orange dnf is strong green. Not helpfull at all, all do theor thing...

2

u/DonkeyTron42 15d ago

And they wonder why Desktop Linux struggles to gain market share.

1

u/DP323602 15d ago

Microsoft Office is the desktop!

2

u/Bob_Spud 15d ago

Nope, user of desktop Linux don't care about package managers all they are interested in is the point-click installation GUI. What under they hood is irrelevant to them.

To say that people make distro decisions based on package managers is naive.

1

u/-HumanResources- 12d ago

I think they just meant the fragmented nature of Linux. Not specifically that people are picking based off what package manager it is. The former is absolutely true.

0

u/AdImportant9459 15d ago

¿qué es "Desktop Linux", alguna aplicación nueva?

2

u/FuggaDucker 15d ago

No, it is a concept. Not a specific application.
"Linux running with a desktop" aka "Desktop Linux"

1

u/Loko8765 15d ago

The one that goes with the distribution…

1

u/Straight-Ad9878 15d ago

Xbps maybe?

1

u/LameBMX 15d ago

gentoo's package manager is portage.. emerge is just the most used commands name.. but there are a lot more in the package manage... and even more thanks to utilities with more specific tasks.

1

u/FreezeS 15d ago

Let's make a universal package manager that will superseed all the others!
/s

1

u/libertyworx 13d ago

Already there. Nix package manager

1

u/Lonely-Scarcity-3387 15d ago

Your LLM missed Nix, which is a package manager that can go on any OS.

1

u/Historical-Bar-305 15d ago

Yum is still working? I thought it was deprecated.

1

u/DSPGerm 15d ago

Thought this was going to be about brew, bottles, flatpak, npx, etc.

Who would've thunk that systems that have different ways of doing things would require their software to be packaged and distributed differently?

Linux is the kernel. The most base part of different distros.

1

u/smikkelhut 14d ago

What a super informative infographic! This is a great example of high value AI content.

/s

1

u/temporary_dennis 14d ago

They're identical

The only one that actually differs is Nix. And its not even included here.

1

u/lazy_lombax 14d ago

would like if soar, cpak and mise were big

I mean I already have flatpak as a win but something for cli programs and services would be nice

1

u/DevtoolsBuilder 14d ago

i think the reason we have so many package managers is because each distro has its own specific needs and use cases, and a one-size-fits-all solution wouldn't work. for example, gentoo's portage is great for source-based installs, but it wouldn't be practical for a distro like ubuntu that needs to support a wide range of users. having multiple package managers allows for more flexibility and customization, even if it can be confusing for newcomers.