Containers (and particularly, Docker-style containers with Kubernetes orchestration) are rapidly taking over the server world. This is not hyperbole, and while one might fairly throw "everything old is new again", it's not a fad. This is a real generational shift. We're at the forefront of this with Fedora Atomic Host (and OpenShift Origin in Fedora as well). This is awesome. I think these technologies are going to come to the desktop, too. Maybe not Kubernetes for a while (although that certainly presents an interesting picture of a hybrid-cloud-powered future), but certainly container tech in some form — maybe it's an iteration of Jessie Frazelle's Docker on the Desktop, maybe it's Snappy, maybe it's Flatpak. I think Flatpak is a good bet, because I trust Alexander Larsson's expertise in this space — and because it's aligned with OCI, the Open Container Initiative. (Plus, using Docker inherently hacky, and until Snappy gets the ability to use something other than an Ubuntu binary runtime, it's a non-starter.) In any case, I'm definitely interested in seeing the experiment. Ever since Fedora started, we've had several somewhat-competing key activities — making an awesome out-of-the-box operating system (in whatever flavors), _and_ in packaging up a universe of useful applications and tools for users. I know *I* love that when I install Fedora, I can install a graphics editor or an alternate terminal program or whatever without going out to a web search and hoping whatever I come back with isn't sketchy. We can definitely keep doing this as RPMs. That's fine; it's working, and we're good at it. There's some pain, but we mostly know how to deal with that pain. We also have a huge opportunity here to take that accumulated wealth of packaged software and the expertise encoded in that packaging and turn it into a trove of Flatpak applications. This would bring the benefits of * safe online updates * a sandboxing model * ability to mix and match versions and streams * a sane way to install apps on Fedora Atomic Workstation to Fedora users — but, also, it would immediately expand the reach and impact of our work to users on other distros, where suddenly Fedora-created packages run seamlessly. For graphical applications, the work we do will immediately be multiplied in user impact. This is a huge win with minimal effort on the part of packagers, once the planned automation is all in place. Is this a plan for expanding Fedora domination? Yes — but I think it's a pretty friendly one. Let's share our awesome work with more people! -- Matthew Miller <mattdm@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> Fedora Project Leader _______________________________________________ devel mailing list -- devel@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx To unsubscribe send an email to devel-leave@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
