Ubuntu 16.04 LTS Will Bring Snap Packages For Up-To-Date, More Secure Apps (neowin.net)

An anonymous reader points us to a report on Neowin: Canonical, Ubuntu's parent company, has announced that Ubuntu 16.04 LTS (Long Term Support) will come with support for the snap packaging format and tools. As a result, end users will get more up-to-date apps, something that proved tricky in the past due âoethe complexity of packaging and providing updates,â which prevented updates to some apps being delivered. Snaps will make the Ubuntu platform more unified, developers will more easily be able to create software for PC, Server, Mobile, or IoT devices. The other major benefit of snaps is that that they're more secure than software installed through deb packages. Snaps are isolated from the rest of the system, meaning that malware packaged with a snap won't be able to affect your Ubuntu installation.

Comments

Like Static Linking!

[TechyImmigrant]

This is like static linking. Just link in all the code from all the libraries your program uses. Back to the simple life.

Why?

[binarylarry]

When you think about what sucks in Ubuntu right now, are apt and deb really the worst offenders that need work?

Re:Why?

[SumDog]

Exactly. Package management with dependencies is what Linux does RIGHT! Look at Android and it's horrible "you have to update the whole damn firmware because nothing is managed by packages!"

Apks and MacOS app containers add so much redundancy. If you have a library with a security problem, you can now have 50 of that library with a security problem scattered everywhere. In the Linux world with proper package management, if develops use the system libraries, then their apps get those security updates.

Re:Why?

[binarylarry]

The answer to the comic's problem isn't a new package manager, it's two factor authentication.

Re:Why?

[Anonymous Coward]

It's not about the 3-5 MB (though in many cases we are talking more like 10-30 MB per app, which quickly ends up several GB overall), but as said in the previous post about the 100s of security holes that will be updated months late if ever.
I.e. it brings the Android model of security (which is: just close your eyes hard enough to not see the holes) to Linux.

Re:Why?

[F.Ultra]

Well each to their own I suppose, myself I have upgraded numerous servers and desktops all the way from 8.04 to 14.04LTS (and 15.10 for the desktops) without any problems what so ever. Not claiming that you didn't experience problems, just that it's not universal. I bet that you can find installs where Debian could not be upgraded without problems or any other distribution for that matter.

'More secure'

[Junta]

More secure as in 'have to wait for app packager to update openssl library rather than updating it system wide and taking care of all dynamically linked apps'.

In fact, for 'security' I'm having a real time linking the rhetoric to a meaningful benefit. Among the benefits of this sort of strategy, I don't see how security would be one of them.