So the thing with Debian and any Debian based distro like Ubuntu or Linux Mint is there is no big centralized software repo like the AUR. Yes there is the apt repository but if you want something that’s not in there, get ready to read the documentation or follow random guides.
For example, one of my friends wanted to download an audio tool called Reaper. On Windows this is just looking up the application and clicking on the .exe. It really depends on the dev if they include a .deb, sometimes you might need to download the .sh file or they may tell you to compile it yourself. Perhaps, you have to add a ppa. On Arch, all I have to do is Paru -S Reaper, if there are multiple Reapers I can look for that by typing Paru Reaper.
Now that Arch is so easy to install with the Archscript, and the software repo so vast and easy to use, is Debian really user friendly if you have to jump through several hoops to download programs?
Edit: yeah yeah there’s flathub and stuff but that’s more of a last resort, optimally, you want to get it the correct way.
You should check out Nix (the package manager). NixOS’s Nix package manager can be used outside its own system. It supports the vast majority of Linux operating systems as well as MacOS.
Nix’s package repository is gigantic like you wouldn’t believe, and Reaper is in it.
It’s still not perfect - there’s still some contamination. I’m a full-time NixOS and Guix System user, so I’ve seen this personally. Of the two, I like Guix more.
Nix or Guix apps install themselves in stores. A app can have dependencies linked to another store - it will/should never use the libraries available by the system package.
Normally when I execute a simple GTK app installed through Nix, inside a Nix shell for example, it should use the GIO library from the store and not the system library. When the later happens (due to some bug/faulty code), it is called a environment contamination.
In this scenario, the app may or may not work - if the versions are very close-by, it should work just fine. However , if you’re using an older channel on a bleeding-edge distro like Arch, or a beta channel on a slow distro like Linux Mint, you’ll definitely have a hard time.
