The diversity of Linux distributions is one of its strengths, but it can also be challenging for app and game development. Where do we need more standards? For example, package management, graphics APIs, or other aspects of the ecosystem? Would such increased standards encourage broader adoption of the Linux ecosystem by developers?

  • TrivialBetaState@sopuli.xyz
    0·
    2 days ago

    While all areas could benefit in terms of stability and ease of development from standadization, the whole system and each area would suffer in terms of creativity. There needs to be a balance. However, if I had to choose one thing, I’d say the package management. At the moment we have deb, rpm, pacman, flatpak, snap (the latter probably should not be considered as the server side is proprietary) and more from some niche distros. This makes is very difficult for small developers to offer their work to all/most users. Otherwise, I think it is a blessing having so many DEs, APIs, etc.

    • steeznson@lemmy.world
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      1 day ago

      There is a separate kernel which is being written entirely in rust from scratch that might interest you. I’m not sure if this is the main one https://github.com/asterinas/asterinas but it is the first one that came up when I searched.

      By the tone of your post you might just want to watch the world burn in which case I’d raise an issue in that repo saying “Rewrite in C++ for compatibility with wider variety of CPU archs” ;)

      • muusemuuse@lemm.eeEnglish
        0·
        24 hours ago

        I’m of the opinion that a full rewrite in rust will eventually happen, but they need to be cautious and not risk alienating developers ala windows mobile so right now it’s still done in pieces. I’m also aware that many of the devs who sharpened their teeth on the kernel C code like it as it is, resist all change, and this causes lots of arguments.

        Looking at that link, I’m not liking the MPL.

  • JuxtaposedJaguar@lemmy.ml
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    2 days ago

    Each monitor should have its own framebuffer device rather than only one app controlling all monitors at any tine and needing each app to implement its own multi-monitor support. I know fbdev is an inefficient, un-accelerated wrapper of the DRI, but it’s so easy to use!

    Want to draw something on a particular monitor? Write to its framebuffer file. Want to run multiple apps on multiple screens without needing your DE to launch everything? Give each app write access to a single fbdev. Want multi-seat support without needing multiple GPUs? Same thing.

    Right now, each GPU only gets 1 fbdev and it has the resolution of the smallest monitor plugged into that GPU. Its contents are then mirrored to every monitor, even though they all have their own framebuffers on a hardware level.

      • JuxtaposedJaguar@lemmy.ml
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        16 hours ago

        Yes and no. It would solve some problems, but because it has no (non-hacky) graphics acceleration, most DEs wouldn’t use it anyway. The biggest benefit would be from not having to use a DE in some circumstances where it’s currently required.

  • gandalf_der_12te@discuss.tchncs.de
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    2 days ago

    I’m not sure whether this should be a “standard”, but we need a Linux Distribution where the user never has to touch the command line. Such a distro would be beneficial and useful to new users, who don’t want to learn about command line commands.

    And also we need a good app store where users can download and install software in a reasonably safe and easy way.

    • RawrGuthlaf@lemmy.sdf.orgEnglish
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      2 days ago

      I really don’t understand this. I put a fairly popular Linux distro on my son’s computer and never needed to touch the command line. I update it by command line only because I think it’s easier.

      Sure, you may run into driver scenarios or things like that from time to time, but using supported hardware would never present that issue. And Windows has just as many random “gotchas”.

      • lumony@lemmings.worldEnglish
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        1 day ago

        I try to avoid using the command line as much as possible, but it still crops up from time to time.

        Back when I used windows, I would legitimately never touch the command line. I wouldn’t even know how to interact with it.

        We’re not quite there with Linux, but we’re getting closer!

    • AugustWest@lemm.eeEnglish
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      2 days ago

      Why do people keep saying this? If you don’t want to use the command line then don’t.

      But there is no good reason to say people shouldn’t. It’s always the best way to get across what needs to be done and have the person execute it.

      The fedora laptop I have been using for the past year has never needed the command line.

      On my desktop I use arch. I use the command line because I know it and it makes sense.

      Its sad people see it as a negative when it is really useful. But as of today you can get by without it.

      • lumony@lemmings.worldEnglish
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        1 day ago

        It’s always the best way to get across what needs to be done and have the person execute it.

        Sigh. If you want to use the command line, great. Nobody is stopping you.

        For those of us who don’t want to use the command line (most regular users) there should be an option not to, even in Linux.

        Its sad people see it as a negative when it is really useful.

        It’s even sadder seeing people lose sight of their humanity when praising the command line while ignoring all of its negatives.

        • AugustWest@lemm.eeEnglish
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          1 day ago

          lose sight of their humanity

          Ok this is now a stupid conversation. Really? Humanity?

          Look, you can either follow a flowchart of a dozen different things to click on to get information about your thunderbolt device or type boltctl -list

          Do you want me to create screen shots of every step of the way to use a gui or just type 12 characters? That is why it is useful. It is easy to explain, easy to ask someone to do it. Then they can copy and paste a response, instead of yet another screenshot.

          Next thing you know you will be telling me it is against humanity to “right click”. Or maybe we all should just get a Mac Book Wheel

          Look, I am only advocating that it is a very useful tool. There is nothing “bad” about it, or even hard. What is the negative?

          But I also said, I have been using a Fedora laptop for over a year and guess what? I never needed the command line. Not once.

          • lumony@lemmings.worldEnglish
            0·
            1 day ago

            Ok this is now a stupid conversation. Really? Humanity?

            Yeah, humanity. The fact you think it’s ‘stupid’ really just proves my point that you’re too far gone.

            or type boltctl -list

            Really? You just have every command memorized? You never need to look any of them up? No copy-pasting!

            Come on, at least try to make a decent argument to avoid looking like a troll.

            I’m glad rational people have won out and your rhetoric is falling further and further by the wayside. The command line is great for development and developers. It’s awful for regular users which is why regular users never touch it.

            You lost sight of your humanity, which is why you don’t even think about how asinine it is to say “just type this command!” as though people are supposed to know it intuitively.

            Gonna block ya now. Arguing with people like you is tiresome and a waste of time.

            Have fun writing commands. Make sure you don’t use a GUI to look them up, or else you’d be proving me right.

  • HiddenLayer555@lemmy.mlEnglish
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    2 days ago

    Where app data is stored.

    ~/.local

    ~/.config

    ~/.var

    ~/.appname

    Sometimes more than one place for the same program

    Pick one and stop cluttering my home directory

    • rice@lemmy.orgEnglish
      0·
      2 days ago

      Yea I like how a lot have moved to using .config but mozilla just moved out of there and now has a .mozilla folder outside of it… wtf… It is insanely sad.

      I have actually moved my entire “user home folder”… folders out of there just because it is so ugly and unorganized. I now use /home/user/userfolders/… all my stuff like documents / videos etc in here

    • Tlaloc_Temporal@lemmy.ca
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      2 days ago

      This would also be nice for atomic distros, application space and system space could be separated in more cases.

    • arsCynic@beehaw.org
      0·
      2 days ago

      This would be convenient indeed, but I’ve learned to be indifferent about it as long as the manual or readme provides helpful and succinct information.

    • itslilith@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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      2 days ago

      it’s pretty bad. steam for example has both
      ~/.steam and
      ~/.local/share/Steam
      for some reason. I’m just happy I moved to an impermanent setup for my PC, so I don’t need to worry something I temporarily install is going to clutter my home directory with garbage

      • rice@lemmy.orgEnglish
        0·
        2 days ago

        that .steam is a bunch of symlinks to the .local one… which makes it even worse. they have also .steampid and .steampath.

        and even worse a bunch of games are starting to add them there too.

          • rice@lemmy.orgEnglish
            0·
            1 day ago

            damn, of all the people you’d think those guys would actually have used the .local or .config =[

            I have 73 dot files in my home directory lmao

    • steeznson@lemmy.world
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      2 days ago

      Yes, I find that dude to be very disagreeable. He’s like everything that haters claim Linus Torvalds is - but manifested IRL.

      • lumony@lemmings.worldEnglish
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        1 day ago

        If the people criticizing him could roll up their sleeves and make better software, then I’d take their criticisms seriously.

        Otherwise they’re “just a critic.”

    • lka1988@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
      0·
      2 days ago

      Systemd is fine. This sounds like an old sysadmin who refuses to learn because “new thing bad” and zero logic to back it up.

      • chaoticnumber@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
        0·
        2 days ago

        As a former sysadmin, there is plenty of logic in saying that. I have debugged countless systems that were using systemd, yet somehow the openrc ones just chug along. In the server space systemd is a travesty.

        In the desktop space however, i much prefer systemd. Dev environments as well. So yes thst is where “it’s fine”. More than fine, needed!

        I just hate this black and white view of the world, I cant stand it. Everything has its place, on servers you want as small a software footprint as possible, on desktop you want compatibility.

      • markstos@lemmy.world
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        2 days ago

        My experience with systemd has been the opposite. Thanks to systemd, many core tools have consistent names and CLI behaviors.

        Before systemd I used sysVinit, upstart and various other tools.

        I’m glad systemd alternatives exist as part of a diverse Linux ecosystem but I haven’t had a compelling reason to not use systemd.

    • Ferk@lemmy.ml
      0·
      2 days ago

      interoperability == API standardization == API homogeneity

      standardization != monopolization

  • LovableSidekick@lemmy.worldEnglish
    0·
    3 days ago

    Small thing about filesystem dialogs. In file open/save dialogs some apps group directories at the top and others mix them in alphabetically with files. My preference is for them to be grouped, but being consistent either way would be nice.

  • ikidd@lemmy.worldEnglish
    0·
    3 days ago

    Domain authentication and group policy analogs. Honestly, I think it’s the major reason it isn’t used as a workstation OS when it’s inherently more suited for it than Windows in most office/gov environments. But if IT can’t centrally managed it like you can with Windows, it’s not going to gain traction.

    Linux in server farms is a different beast to IT. They don’t have to deal with users on that side, just admins.

    • Pup Biru@aussie.zoneEnglish
      0·
      2 days ago

      i’ve never understood why there’s not a good option for using one of the plethora of server management tools with prebuilt helpers for workstations to mimic group policy

      like the tools we have on linux to handle this are far, far more powerful

    • lka1988@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
      0·
      2 days ago

      An immutable distro would be ideal for this kind of thing. ChromeOS (an immutable distro example) can be centrally managed, but the caveat with ChromeOS in particular is that it’s management can only go through Google via their enterprise Google Workspace suite.

      But as a concept, this shows that it’s doable.

      • silly goose meekah@lemmy.world
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        2 days ago

        I don’t think anyone was saying it’s impossible, just that it needs standardization. I imagine windows is more appealing to companies when it is easier to find admins than if they were to use some specific linux system where only a few people are skilled to manage it.

    • fxdave@lemmy.ml
      0·
      2 days ago

      I’ve never understood putting arbitrary limits on a company laptop. I had always been seeking for ways to hijack them. Once I ended up using a VM, without limit…

      • lka1988@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
        0·
        2 days ago

        Because people are stupid. One of my coworkers (older guy) tends to click on things without thinking. He’s been through multiple cyber security training courses, and has even been written up for opening multiple obvious phishing emails.

        People like that are why company-owned laptops are locked down with group policy and other security measures.

      • ikidd@lemmy.worldEnglish
        0·
        2 days ago

        I mean, it sucks, but the stupid shit people will do with company laptops…

  • irotsoma@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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    3 days ago

    Not offering a solution here exactly, but as a software engineer and architect, this is not a Linux only problem. This problem exists across all software. There are very few applications that are fully self contained these days because it’s too complex to build everything from scratch every time. And a lot of software depends on the way that some poorly documented feature worked at the time that was actually a bug and was eventually fixed and then breaks the applications that depended on it, etc. Also, any time improvements are made in a library application it has potential to break your application, and most developers don’t get time to test the every newer version.

    The real solution would be better CI/CD build systems that automatically test the applications with newer versions of libraries and report dependencies better. But so many applications are short on automated unit and integration tests because it’s tedious and so many companies and younger developers consider it a waste of time/money. So it would only work in well maintained and managed open source types of applications really. But who has time for all that?

    Anyway, it’s something I’ve been thinking about a lot at my current job as an architect for a major corporation. I’ve had to do a lot of side work to get things even part of the way there. And I don’t have to deal with multiple OSes and architectures. But I think it’s an underserved area of software development and distribution that is just not “fun” enough to get much attention. I’d love to see it at all levels of software.

  • Mio@feddit.nu
    0·
    3 days ago

    Configuration gui standard. Usually there is a config file that I am suppose to edit as root and usually done in the terminal.

    There should be a general gui tool that read those files and obey another file with the rules. Lets say it is if you enable this feature then you can’t have this on at the same time. Or the number has to be between 1 and 5. Not more or less on the number. Basic validation. And run the program with --validation to let itself decide if it looks good or not.

    • lumony@lemmings.worldEnglish
      0·
      1 day ago

      Fuckin hate having to go through config files to change settings…

      It’s always great when settings are easily accessible in a GUI, though! Mad props to the great developers that include them!

      • Einar@lemm.eeOP
        0·
        3 days ago

        I agree. OpenSuse should set the standards in this.

        Tbf, they really need a designer to upgrade this visually a bit. It exudes its strong “Sys Admin only” vibes a bit much. In my opinion. 🙂

  • kibiz0r@midwest.socialEnglish
    0·
    3 days ago

    ARM support. Every SoC is a new horror.

    Armbian does great work, but if you want another distro you’re gonna have to go on a lil adventure.