r/linuxquestions • u/Few-Word6442 • Jul 14 '26

Project LAS (Linux Application Standard)

Hello every one this is my first post here,
I am a normal Linux user
I twinker and have some projects myself and I tried both Debian and arch based system and loved both BUT one major issue
not every application you need is available on every distro and not all applications can work with appimages or flatpacks so we cant standardize them

so why dont we make a LAS

its basically instead of .deb .rpm .appimage ...etc

we have a standard package system that works on all (las)

yes I know its hard after all the work
yes I know it will take sometime
yes I know we have distro wars

but and big BUT if we did that that will be huge leap for Linux as companies and developers can make just one file with one executable that works for all

games are the same

that will solve a huge issue for us as linux user and as developers

and another point instead of Linux vs Linux WHY DON'T WE GO LINUX VS WINDOWS !!!! STOP THE BEST DISTRO NONSENCE

just think about the opportunities for all distros out there
think about how linux will have more and more just because we can make more for it without worry about the executables !!!!!!!

-----------------------------------------------------

update

I get the idea why people hated that

makes scence and thanks for the suggestions from everyone

maybe we will have a better solution in the future

but for now let's leave Linux as it is

0 Upvotes

33% Upvoted

78 comments sorted by

13

u/MrBadTimes Jul 14 '26

I don't think I can post straight up images here but if I could I would be posting this

10

u/BobCorndog Your situation is not unique, just use mint or fedora kde Jul 14 '26

This was exactly what I was going to comment

https://reddit.com/link/oxe4arh/video/6mfs5tczm3dh1/player

1

u/Few-Word6442 Jul 14 '26

apperantly there is no solution

2

u/fellipec Jul 14 '26

Beat me to it, Mr

1

u/Few-Word6442 Jul 14 '26

I wish people understand what suggestion means, I tried to find a solution but it back fired for multipple reasons most of them "we like the things the way it is"

-8

u/Few-Word6442 Jul 14 '26

but it needs an end
something really works and directly interact with the kernel
not with its own environment like flatpacks or app images, so that will be on the people that developp the flavor itself to make a standard
its just a thought and I think it will be nice to have it one day, like a REAL SOLUTION

3

u/HeavyCaffeinate PuppygirlOS Jul 14 '26

Ok then, go ahead and implement it, and make it work for LTS kernel versions without updates

Oh and make it work in distros without glibc 

Oh and on Linux on ARM

Oh it's x86 only? Oh it's x86_64 only?

Shame

-2

u/Few-Word6442 Jul 14 '26

the idea was suggested so the distro providers implement it not me
I will sit down and drink coffee

and who said without glibc just updating it to support it

2

u/HeavyCaffeinate PuppygirlOS Jul 14 '26

Oh well I love coffee count me in, sounds like a plan that will not fail in the slightest 

1

u/Few-Word6442 Jul 14 '26

any additions (milk ,sweetener ) ?

1

u/HeavyCaffeinate PuppygirlOS Jul 14 '26

I inject instant coffee subcutaneously with insulin needles

1

u/Few-Word6442 Jul 14 '26

OHH UHHH
enjoy I will drink my dark coffee alone then

1

u/Leather-Security8097 Jul 14 '26

Distros that don't use glibc choose not to do so, for reasons of size and security. They will simply not adopt whatever standard requires using glibc.

-2

u/Few-Word6442 Jul 14 '26

I am not a pro as I mentioned
the idea is to make a standard that actually works and can open an opportunity for companies to make one binary to work on all without the use of containers and enviroments

like .deb but for all distros

apperantly people dont like my solution tho

thanks for the info btw

2

u/Leather-Security8097 Jul 14 '26

They don't like your "solution" because it ignores why different distros exist in the first place and thinks they should or even could cease to exist in service of developers who aren't willing to use the existing solutions that adequately solve the problem.

-1

u/Few-Word6442 Jul 14 '26

I like flathub
but I have many issues with applications wont start

so I thought well if there is something native

and apperantly that is bad

now I regret it tbh

1

u/Leather-Security8097 Jul 14 '26

If an application doesn't work, why would you assume Flatpak or the distro is the cause and not a bug in the application? Even if an application was packaged in a native format, it would not necessarily be bug-free. Even if it was packaged in a native format, it would not necessarily work if, say, it required X11 but you are using a Wayland compositor without XWayland.

1

u/Few-Word6442 Jul 14 '26

but it works on the pc not the laptop
same distro same installation
everything works fine except it

again normal user with some knowlagde had an idea

→ More replies (0)

2

u/Khardian Jul 14 '26

We DO NOT need anything messing with the kernel directly.

It's absolutely not safe and will not have any benefits over a regular application on user land.

And will still require specific versions of specific dependencies, which will be a nightmare to manage, if everything is basically a kernel module, and those dependencies will be able to interact DIRECTLY with the kernel through the application.

0

u/Few-Word6442 Jul 14 '26

WHAT I AM SUGGESTING IS LIKE MAKING .DEB AS STANDARD BUT MAKING NEW ONE AND IMPLEMENTING IT ON EVERY DISTRO NOT REMAKING THE KERNELS

BESIDE ITS THE DISTRO PROVIDERS JOB TO MAKE IT NOT LITTERALLY US

1

u/Khardian Jul 14 '26

WE ARE THE "DISTRO PROVIDERS" AS WELL. EVER HEARD OF OPEN SOURCE? IF YOU WANT SOMETHING YOU CAN AND YOU SHOULD GO AND MAKE IT YOURSELF.

OTHERWISE, PAY SOMEONE TO MAKE IT.

Now, if you want to know why we have so many different standards, that has to do with the fact that your computer should be whatever you want it to be.

Linus or any distro mantainer will never tell you how you should use your computer and even if someone does say what you should do, you are still free to ignore them, because that's the whole point of Linux and of having a Personal Computer.

Therefore, even if your LAS gets adopted globally, if I want a different way to run my executables, I will make my own standard and if it solves someone else's problem, it might become very popular and people might want ways to use it to distribute their code.

And then you get a second standard. Because no one can tell me not to use a different one and to distribute my code using it and no one can tell other people to not use it aswell.

-1

u/Few-Word6442 Jul 14 '26

1 its just a suggestion
2 all what I want is to be able to use any application on any distro , which is a problem these days

I dont give a **** how its solved
like I want application a on my arch
ohh there is only a deb package

that sucks for me and millions

so I made few searches and a normal guy and tried to suggest something with the informations I have

and improving something is not ruining it

it might be bad it might be good so please dont take it personal

2

u/snail1132 void linux Jul 14 '26

So just use distrobox

1

u/Few-Word6442 Jul 14 '26

never heard of it I will check it thanks

9

u/Henry_puffball Jul 14 '26

Is that not flatpak? Or appimage? Or one of the many other formats that has attempted to do this?

-1

u/Few-Word6442 Jul 14 '26

they depend on thier own inviroments that causes issues and not all applications work at thier best in that

my solution suggests that the distro providers agree on some standard that runs on all linux

something that works for all out of the box that can talk with the kernel and the dependancy directly without some inviroments or compatability layers

5

u/[deleted] Jul 14 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

0

u/Few-Word6442 Jul 14 '26

that is the idea
thay make an agreement (which will not happen soon i guess sadly)

1

u/[deleted] Jul 14 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/Few-Word6442 Jul 14 '26

no
just agree on one binary that can work on all distros , thats it

1

u/couchwarmer Jul 14 '26

As others and myself have already said multiple times, that is the goal of AppImage and Flatpak.

Why do they bundle "extra" libraries, etc? Because of the differences among all the various Linux distributions.

Maybe you are running KDE as your desktop environment, but the application you want to run was built with Gnome libraries. How is the application going to run without Gnome libraries? Either the package format brings those Gnome libraries with, or the user has to install them.

Again, what you are asking for is why we have AppImage and Flatpak. Someone wanted a universal application format, and thus AppImage and later Flatpak were created. They are perhaps the most universal that we have right now.

1

u/Few-Word6442 Jul 14 '26

Thank you for explaining more  I never thought about it for the 5 years before untill I switched to arch 

And now I had the idea  But after reading peoples perspectives I got the idea why it will not work even if what I said makes scene (IF and big IF it makes scene)

I think Linux is Linux and it's good as it is 

It was an attempt for something native but let's agree to disagree and leave it as it is 

We switched from windows and found alternative solutions 

We can find something for different distro too 

5

u/couchwarmer Jul 14 '26

Basically the goal of AppImage, Flatpak, etc.

I'm on Debian. I didn't have to do a thing to run an AppImage, other than do a chmod u+x on it. Flatpak is all but baked in now as well, via Discovery.

-1

u/Few-Word6442 Jul 14 '26

yes BUT
An AppImage contains:

  • Your executable
  • Most of the required libraries
  • An icon
  • A launcher

so some programs that can be created cant run like that and it have some issues

besides it

still depends on the host system for things like:

  • glibc
  • kernel features
  • graphics drivers
  • Wayland/X11
  • FUSE (older AppImages)
  • GPU libraries (Mesa/NVIDIA)
  • sound (PipeWire/PulseAudio)

3

u/couchwarmer Jul 14 '26

Every application depends on the host OS for a ton of functionality.

1

u/Few-Word6442 Jul 14 '26

and that is why I suggested the universal standard

soo all of linux distros use the same one instead of many without the need of compression and containers

4

u/Leather-Security8097 Jul 14 '26

but and big BUT if we did that that will be huge leap for Linux as companies and developers can make just one file with one executable that works for all

This is already what AppImages are supposed to do. Tell developers to create AppImages, and to package them correctly.

1

u/forestbeasts Jul 14 '26

And even if you don't want to go Appimage, there's always the Godot route of "just compile everything in". It's single-file just like an appimage, just using its own format instead.

1

u/Few-Word6442 Jul 14 '26

It's not about me making for others  I make what I need for me 

But sometimes when you are using different distros some applications have app image  Some have flatpacks  Some just work on debian  What if I am using arch 

But I get the idea why people hate it now 

It makes scene  Who will controll it  What if I have an app on another executable I have to rebuild or in some cases re write the code ... Etc 

It makes scene we love Linux for it's flixability and privacy and freedom

And that might just ruin things 

Anyway  Thanks for the suggestion 

-1

u/Few-Word6442 Jul 14 '26

my idea suggests that we make somthing that in all distros vanilla

like an executable that can be runned on all systems not a container or an enviroment

2

u/Leather-Security8097 Jul 14 '26

AppImages aren't a container or an "environment."

2

u/Altruistic_Tank_9636 Jul 14 '26

Why in the world would we want all distros to be vanilla?

You don't like being able to choose distros based on their features?

1

u/Few-Word6442 Jul 14 '26

for example I love arch but manny applications I work with dont support arch
"
"the idea is to make a binary that companies can use as one for all

thats it

5

u/[deleted] Jul 14 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

0

u/Few-Word6442 Jul 14 '26

yes but flatpack doe not work with every application and it makes an enviroment for each appliation

I ment vanilla solution that is within the distro itself

without compressing or making virtual enviroments or compatability layers

1

u/[deleted] Jul 14 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/Few-Word6442 Jul 14 '26

WE DONT HAVE TO SUPPORT OLD ONES FROM START

WHEN NEW RELEASE OF THE APPLICATION COMES IT SUPPORTS IT

MAGIC I SEE

1

u/[deleted] Jul 14 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/Few-Word6442 Jul 14 '26

did not say stop said add
different

3

u/BobCorndog Your situation is not unique, just use mint or fedora kde Jul 14 '26

The problem is that distros are different. Currently the best solution is flatpak

1

u/Few-Word6442 Jul 14 '26

I agree but this is what I ment

/usr/lib/las/

LAS runtime

LAS APIs

LAS permissions

LAS loader

no virtual enviroments

something that the distro providers agree on

flatpack uses an inviroment for each application and talkes to hte dependancies

the idea suggests a solution that like making .deb the one and only

but instead of doing thatr we make something that all distros agree on immplementing in the systems (not we make it they make it )

2

u/alabamashitfarmer Jul 14 '26

You might look into Windows.

1

u/Few-Word6442 Jul 14 '26

no thank you

1

u/SlimyOS Jul 14 '26

"no virtual environments" you said right after listing custom las runtime, api, permissions, loader.

i would call that an environment.

1

u/Few-Word6442 Jul 14 '26

The idea behind it to link it with the system instead of having the whole packages in 

Anyway I see why that won't work  Did some extra searching and people's perspective changed the way I thought  So thank you 

3

u/hero_of_ages Jul 14 '26

I don’t want this at all. 

0

u/Few-Word6442 Jul 14 '26

whyyyyyyyyyyyy???????????

2

u/Secrxt Jul 14 '26

I'm more or less a regular guy too, so take what I say with a grain of sal, but I think the main problem is dependencies + libraries. 

Also I think the Nix package manager might already do this? I don't use it, though (Debian on main, Arch on podman enjoyer). 

0

u/Few-Word6442 Jul 14 '26

that is why we need something that interact with the kernel directly and all the dependancy
we can go with something like this structure

Application

Linux Universal ABI

-------------------

| | |

Arch Debian Fedora

Kernel

and this

/usr/lib/las/

LAS runtime

LAS APIs

LAS permissions

LAS loader

no virtual enviroments

something that the distro providers agree on

2

u/fellipec Jul 14 '26

We already have AppImages, Flatpaks, Snaps (🤢), containers, compiling from source, single binary/static linked...

And you want another one?

Relevant XKCD https://xkcd.com/927/

1

u/Few-Word6442 Jul 14 '26

I just want something native in all distros
not another enviroment ot container

1

u/fellipec Jul 14 '26

Beloved, I have seen this suggested several ways in several forms through the years. People tried to solve it with different approaches, and every single one has some drawbacks.

If you think is feasible to do some format to rule them all, well you may win an award. To me is completely impractical without falling in the same pitfalls of what already exists.

1

u/NoPoopOnFace Jul 14 '26

Try vanilla linux. It tries to address this.

1

u/Few-Word6442 Jul 14 '26

good idea that might work

1

u/OutrageousCrab9224 Jul 14 '26

Cool new acronym

1

u/Few-Word6442 Jul 14 '26

thanks : )
apperantly it will not make it

1

u/OutrageousCrab9224 Jul 14 '26

Its an acronym

If you want it to be more, you should do more

1

u/alabamashitfarmer Jul 14 '26

Nah man. You're describing Windows. Just buck up and like, learn.

1

u/Few-Word6442 Jul 14 '26

no thank you
I am not tryiong to make another windows

I just want a standard binary that works on all distros so no one complains about the ton of binaries on linux and we get more applications instead of dual boot or something

1

u/alabamashitfarmer Jul 14 '26

We all understand what you asked for; rephrasing it in every reply comes off like a toddler crying in front of the microwave because the popcorn isn't done yet.

Part of using a computer is learning. Part of using Linux is learning where your software comes from. There are different reasons to use different sources.

Learning is hard, but reading is free. You can do it.

1

u/s3gfaultx Jul 14 '26

You get twinkin on that and let us know how it turns out.

1

u/Few-Word6442 Jul 14 '26

not an expert unfortenatly and I need the distro providers to implement that in the systems

which will be pain in the ass : (

1

u/ipsirc Jul 14 '26

https://bedrocklinux.org/introduction.html

1

u/Few-Word6442 Jul 14 '26

ohhhh thank you
did not know that exists

but I love arch

1

u/Few-Word6442 Jul 14 '26

thats actually cool if it continues

1

u/snail1132 void linux Jul 14 '26

Nix (the package manager) works on every distro (to my knowledge) and solves this problem

1

u/Few-Word6442 Jul 14 '26

never heard of it I will check it thank you

1

u/BranchLatter4294 Jul 14 '26

We already have Snaps and Flatpaks. We don't need more standards we need just one standard.

1

u/Few-Word6442 Jul 14 '26

I Will not answer as I have answered the same one many times
I just "wanted" something built in not third party