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.
The correct way is getting it from the official source, not a random user-contributed build.
These are download instructions from Librewolf’s official website:
Ubuntu: https://librewolf.net/installation/debian/
Arch: https://librewolf.net/installation/debian/
Ubuntu is noticeably longer as you need to wget a specific link and adding the keys.
Arch is just one command from the aur whether you want to use pacman, yay, or paru
If the two steps of adding a repo and its signing key before you install a deb is too much for you, just wait until you need to compile something from source.
I have installed manually before. I’m not saying that it’s hard, I’m saying that arch is faster to do so since it’s one command. You’re not going to memorize the wget link and process to install keys for every program. Why is this so controversial?
Arch (arch based x86_64)
Download and install
https://sourceforge.net/projects/joborun/files/r/librewolf-122.0.1-03-x86_64.pkg.tar.lz/download
or cd /tmp
mkdir libw
cd libw
wget https://git.disroot.org/joborun-pkg/jobextra/raw/commit/3f78c1796cc471eed86f817cdffc7bcaa038d5b1/librewolf/PKGBUILD
makepkg
sudo pacman -U *x86_64.pkg.tar.*
librewolf
or
firejail librewolf
yeah yeah there’s flathub and stuff but that’s more of a last resort, optimally, you want to get it the correct way.
Dude, there is no correct or wrong way. Many prefer Flatpaks, because they ship with all they need and work on every distro.
Also, you can just use Distrobox on any distro and use anything you want.
But calling Arch easier than Zorin or similar is just wrong.
Congrats. Now you know why distrobox is so good. The package manager of the host doesn’t matter anymore. Nix package manager also works on any system. And finally, nowadays you use flatpak to install apps whereever possible.
You can’t take the package manager as a reference to judge which OS is better.
Arch is not only about installing but keeping up to date. A normal person does not want to read about selinux. Debian doesn’t use it either but uses something comparable. On arch you have to take care of it. On debian the maintainers take care of it.
I’ve been using Arch almost a decade now (after distro hopping between various Debian based distros), installed it on a bunch of different devices and never once had to read about selinux.
Arch maintainers take care of stuff too. If you don’t want to update much, then update every three months or however long you like 🤷🏻♀️
You took one narrow use case whose significant downsides you’re unaware of and made an OS ease of use judgement based on that. Therefore while you’re entitled to it, it’s not a useful judgement. ☺️
My narrow use case is just installing packages. There are lots of packages not in the apt repository. All I’m saying is that aur has more stuff. Now, if apt repository has around the same amount as the aur then I could see how debian based distros are functionally as easy to use.
Do you look at the stuff in the aur? Because any of that stuff you install from there could be messed with because it’s a user repository. I specifically left arch because I had to look into all the packages I installed from the aur, and the stuff from the official repos was pretty limited compared to something like Debian. That took a lot of time. Or, you could always just install whatever you find with zero concern about security.
I’ve been running Debian for decades with maybe 2 problems I had to manually resolve with apt. I ran arch and manjaro for maybe a year, and had a handful. I’m certainly not going to say not to run arch, but it’s in no way easier to keep running than Debian. That’s literally Debian’s whole gig.
When you download new programs how do you do so? You just install flatpak or what?
In all the years I’ve used the AUR I only heard of one pkg violating security, it was recognized pretty fast and was removed within hours from going up. AUR pkgs have history/track/votes on them, with thousands using them it is just as likely an official pkg having rogue code as an aur pkg.
Also, aur pkg are not really software written for the aur, it is software packaged for the arch ecosystem, and several other distros are using them.
All I’m saying is that aur has more stuff.
Sure, but that does not equate to the premise you made that Arch is easier to use than Debian.
Dog. I’m an arch user. You can’t just say “Arch is easier than Debian” and then in the first part of your argument say:
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.
You do realize Arch just frontloads that effort right? It’s not any “easier.” We embrace the fucking manual. (Arch based distros aside…)
Now if you were praising the simplicity of makepkg and the PKGBUILD syntax then sure. As is, though, this is just a bad take.
I’d argue that debian based distributions also need to refer to the documentation as well. If you have a simple setup, you probably don’t even need to visit the documentation on Arch.
That really isn’t true. Debian packages are often heavily patched and tested to make sure it fits into the rest of the ecosystem. While Arch does it too, they prefer to keep the packages as vanilla as possible - often requiring effort of the user’s side to make it work with the rest of the system. It’s a different philosophy. While Debian tries to be simple by being opinionated, Arch relies heavily on the effort of the users.
While Arch does it too, they prefer to keep the packages as vanilla as possible - often requiring effort of the user’s side to make it work with the rest of the system
To be honest, I have hardly ever had this experience. In my opinion, the distribution works so well precisely because Arch releases everything vanilla wherever possible. And in cases where the vanilla version doesn’t work, the Arch team patches it.
