Well I was sitting at home and I thought hmmmmm .deb isn’t very obvious what it does couldn’t it be .install or something easier to figure out at first glance? I know that people don’t exactly see the .deb files but still if a third party software developer ships .debs and the user doesn’t have a clue until they double click in the hope it does what they want.
And why do we have a Debian directory for packaging Ubuntu applications really shouldn’t we use Ubuntu instead or use an install directory or something?
Names are important and if you look at things like file extensions even on Windows and Mac you would see some problems in the naming of extensions. On Windows you have .exe files and .msi files for application installs and for Macs its .dmg from what I remember. So none of us have an extension that makes it easy to know what the files actually do.
So whats stopping us from doing it better? It really shouldn’t take too many patches to change the names and it would make things a little bit more obvious at first glance for people who are new to the system. (or well the .debs maybe the other thing is just a vanity thing)
Oh and I thought I should update everyone on the progress of getting the funds together for my new computer im on €25 so still a long way to go so please help id really appreciate it all the info is here.
What if we got rid of file extensions alltogether? In a GUI, they aren’t the best solution to the problem of identifying file types; metadata can do that far better.
Nice idea I like it.
Heh, we haven’t even made sane bash aliases for system commands like ‘restart’ yet, let’s not get ahead of ourselves
But really, I think the Software Center is a HUGE part of what makes our platform more secure than others. If end users get ALL their software through it, they’ll never end up installing a trojan. Even mac users get trojans. But we don’t have to be like that.
I don’t think we’ll be seeing actual install files long enough to have to worry about it. We can always hide extensions and rely on the icon to communicate the purpose like Windows 7 does.
I was wondering the same thing.Ubuntu and Debian are not binary compatible,so why .deb for packages?
We are in Lucid from what I remember because we both ship the same gcc. We still use the same technology as debian thats why we use the same extension the difference is just the compilers we use.
WTF?
Don’t make technical conclusions and give advice on subsystems if you don’t understand them!
That’s a dpkg feature! It’s even bigger, goes into programs like alien and various package-building programs that don’t even come close to involving gcc.
Seriously. Sophomore syndrome.
Im actually right we werent binary compatible because we used different compiler versions being used by the two distros. Its not any particular changes in dpkg or anything else.
Versions of GCC don’t mean anything. Do you have any idea how shared libraries work at all?
Finally, you should really reconsider your spamming the planets with “please buy me a computer!” It’s quite annoying.
Ok I wont but now my computer is broken and unusable so I cant do anything. So im going afk for a few months till I can get the money together.
And why do we have a Debian directory for packaging Ubuntu applications really shouldn’t we use Ubuntu instead or use an install directory or something?
hmmm could it be that because Ubuntu is based on Debian and every six months or so Ubuntu takes a snapshot of Debian…
I know that I just was wondering why not change it for vanity purposes.
Because that’s a terrible idea.
You’d have to patch dpkg, apt, and numerous other tools, with the only gain being vanity for the developers.
Hubris: The Ubugtu way.
You’re pathetic! Instead of staying home sitting on your thumbs thinking of a novel way to remove from Ubuntu the last traces remaining of our Debian legacy, and pleading for money like a whining little boy, I suggest you get on your ass and go find a job to buy whatever the hell you want. Jeez, I can’t believe how annoying can certain individuals be!
Em I dont think you get the point of this post at all. Changing the extension is more of a UI decision and the debain directory thing is only a vanity thing. I wasnt doing it to remove every trace of debian from ubuntu. If was trying to do that id mention the command line messages sometimes say debian and the live cd says debian even before it says ubuntu if you look carefully. So I dont mind the debain and its a big part of what makes us awesome but this is ubuntu and things like UI decisions are for us to make.
I do have a job at the moment helping my dad but it doesnt pay too good and I am a full time student too so that takes up a hell of a lot of time. So stop trolling and get your facts right.
If you’re not an English speaker, extensions like “.install” don’t make much sense anyway.
A truly user-friendly solution would be to eliminate filename extensions altogether. Sadly, I can’t think of a solution that would be both backwards compatible and compatible with Microsoft Windows.
This might be sad, but it might not be as sad as one might think. Not worrying about backwards compatibility could prove to be just what is needed to bring novel thinking to reality!
Also, Shane… get a better job.
Yep that sounds like a better plan.
How about .app or .install?
Well .app sounds like its an actual application but .install is good and easy to understand so im happy with that.
We get 75% of our packages from Debian unmodified. There are roughly an order of magnitude more Debian developers than Ubuntu developers. I have not yet come up with a word to describe how bad an idea it would be to fork the packaging system for vanity reasons. If it hurts your feelings to see Debian packaging naming in your Ubuntu packages, call it Debian style packaging (as opposed to RPM style packaging) and get over it.
Very true Scott I already accepted that it would be too much work its just a dumb idea to change all of the names but the guys in the comments came up with a better idea. That is to not display extensions anyway which is better and easier to do.
Uh, wow. People really get pissed about this shit. I mean seriously….wow.
Dude, don’t feel bad asking the planet about computers. If I was able, I’d send ya one. The others that don’t like reading a post like that can, you know, act like adults and skip the post? I do it all the time. For instance whenever a Frank Boyle writes something.
Now as to the file name I prefer .irish or .aoirthoir if we are going for vanity reasons. I mean, those are at least interesting extensions, whereas .deb seems like it was made by people who would get pissed if you suggested a different naming system.
Now as far as using .irish or .aoirthoir, since you and I definitely agree we should use them. I just renamed all the friggin .deb files I have to .aoirthoir and tried to install. Works like a charm:D so the whiners whining about your supposed whining can eat skunk.
Kind Regards,
Aoirthoir Von Lichtenstein The Thirdmost.
Look up freegeek or whatever local equivalent you have. They collect old computers, refurbish them and sell them or you can get a free one by volunteering some time. Alternatively pick one up off the side of the road on bulk rubbish day.
Try, /usr/src/
That’s the UNIX install directory. Anyways, it’s called .deb because there is .rpm, .ebuild, and so on. It’s specific to Debian in terms of package manager. It makes perfect sense to me.
While I approve of trying to name things easier for average computer users, I think renaming ‘something.deb’ to ‘something.install’ won’t help. I would guess 50% of home computer owners don’t know what the word ‘install’ means, or that you ‘install’ software. Just look at the videos where Google asked people what browser they used, and look at the ‘facebook login’ saga for evidence. If they see a ‘something.install’ file they won’t know what it does. Changing ‘deb’ to ‘install’ will only change one unobvious file extension for another.