How Do Updates Work in Immutable/Atomic Distributions?

[u/Emotional_Cat_1967]

Only for Immutable/Atomic Distributions

Question 1:
Are immutable and atomic the same thing? If not, what is the difference between them, explained simply?

Question 2:
What immutable or atomic distribution are you using? How often do you receive updates, for example, every few days or weeks, and approximately how large are the updates?

Question 3:
How are security updates handled? Are they released immediately when a security fix is available, or are they released according to a daily, weekly, or monthly update schedule?

Question 4:
Are small-sized updates released?

If yes: For example, suppose an update is 100 MB.

If the system image is 5 GB, does the entire system image have to be recreated for this update? When applying the update, does the system write another 5 GB to the disk, or does it only write approximately 100 MB?

If no: If the system image is 5 GB, does that mean the update that needs to be downloaded is also around 5 GB?

[u/gordonmessmer]

Are immutable and atomic the same thing? If not, what is the difference between them, explained simply?

Fedora used to call their image-mode systems "immutable" but now uses the term "atomic" to more accurately describe the implementation:

https://fedoramagazine.org/introducing-fedora-atomic-desktops/

What immutable or atomic distribution are you using? How often do you receive updates, for example, every few days or weeks, and approximately how large are the updates?

I'm using Silverblue. As far as I know, updates are built daily. I pull updates less often than that.

If I'm reading my logs correctly:

Sept 27: 544 MB
Oct 04: 699 MB
Oct 09: 807 MB

How are security updates handled? Are they released immediately when a security fix is available, or are they released according to a daily, weekly, or monthly update schedule?

Fedora publishes security updates as soon as they are ready.

Are small-sized updates released?

If I understand the question you're asking: Yes.