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There used to be a slide like this in the RPM packaging workshop:
Packaging as a standard (aka, why package at all?)
Auditing software usage
What, where?
Version control
Reproducible installations (Kickstart integration via anaconda, Ansible)
Minimizes risk
Security
Rogue Applications
Licensing
Trusted provider
So you see why sudo make install is just not enough...
which is still valid but it is IMHO an outdated argument from early 2000s when it was common to sudo make install. Funilly enough, it is starting to be an important topic with the current rise of curl | bash installation instructions everywhere.
The point I was trying to make during the meeting is that this is not enough. In the past explaining why to use packages implied why to use RPM packages, because the audience was presumably Fedora users and there was no alternative to RPM packages. These days we have options ...
Why to use RPM packages and not ...
Universal application formats like Flatpaks, Snaps, AppImages
Language specific package managers like pip, cargo
Package managers that are distribution independent like Nix and Guix (not NixOS and Guix System as linux distributions themselves but Nix and Guix as package managers that work on any other distribution including Fedora)
Container workflows like Distrobox, Toolbox, or Dev Containers
and why should I bother with packaging something into RPM when it is already available in either of these options.
Still a lot of work to be done. The second half is still missing, and it needs some polishing. Also, I don't even know if we agree on the arguments I am making.
I often find myself arguing about (and hence I miss that perspective in your blog post) "dependency hell" thing.
I don't want to have dozens of versions of each package installed on my system. . . but I may provide a separate post about this, I bet.
What PR do you mean?
So I could in-line review :-) there's a typo
That would have been a good idea, wouldn't it :D. Sorry about that, there is not a PR. But you can still comment on the commit FrostyX/frostyx.github.io@9373e96
But there is still that problem that you have multiple different containers with multiple different versions of libraries
Multiple containers, yes. Multiple different versions only if you cross the Fedora version boundaries .. but the more I think about it, the more I think this is worth a separate blog post.
Activity
FrostyX commentedon Sep 4, 2026
There used to be a slide like this in the RPM packaging workshop:
which is still valid but it is IMHO an
outdatedargument from early 2000s when it was common tosudo make install. Funilly enough, it is starting to be an important topic with the current rise ofcurl | bashinstallation instructions everywhere.The point I was trying to make during the meeting is that this is not enough. In the past explaining why to use packages implied why to use RPM packages, because the audience was presumably Fedora users and there was no alternative to RPM packages. These days we have options ...
Why to use RPM packages and not ...
pip,cargoand why should I bother with packaging something into RPM when it is already available in either of these options.
FrostyX commentedon Oct 25, 2026
I had some free time, so I started drafting this blog post
https://github.com/FrostyX/frostyx.github.io/blob/master/_drafts/why-should-you-care-about-rpm-packaging.md
Still a lot of work to be done. The second half is still missing, and it needs some polishing. Also, I don't even know if we agree on the arguments I am making.
xsuchy commentedon Oct 26, 2026
I read it and I think you are driving it in the right direction. I have no suggestions for improvement.
praiskup commentedon Oct 26, 2026
Is there a PR?
sowftwareI often find myself arguing about (and hence I miss that perspective in your blog post) "dependency hell" thing.
I don't want to have dozens of versions of each package installed on my system. . . but I may provide a separate post about this, I bet.
FrostyX commentedon Oct 26, 2026
What PR do you mean?
i.e. bundling libraries?
I am planning make this argument in these two sections:
praiskup commentedon Oct 26, 2026
So I could in-line review :-) there's a typo
praiskup commentedon Oct 26, 2026
... is imo a legitimate way around dependency hell in RPM, yes (considering we "can't fix the world out there").
For flatpacks/docker/snaps/etc. --> these are a bit orthogonal to my thought...? Not sure. It is nice if users build containers on top of RPMs.
FrostyX commentedon Oct 26, 2026
That would have been a good idea, wouldn't it :D. Sorry about that, there is not a PR. But you can still comment on the commit
FrostyX/frostyx.github.io@9373e96
FrostyX commentedon Oct 26, 2026
Agree. But there is still that problem that you have multiple different containers with multiple different versions of libraries
praiskup commentedon Oct 26, 2026
Multiple containers, yes. Multiple different versions only if you cross the Fedora version boundaries .. but the more I think about it, the more I think this is worth a separate blog post.