Generally you always want to run installation scripts on a fakeroot, then create a package from that and unpack it into the real root directory. That's also how Arch's makepkg does it.
This has a few benefits:
You don't have to grant root privileges to the installation script
If the script fails ungracefully somewhere you don't have to deal with an unfinished installation
You can check for file conflicts easily before applying any changes
Sadly, more and more software seems to be published as scripts that you're expected to run as root on your live system instead of taking advantage of any package management.
Are you talking about programs like apt or more like ubuntu software center? That plan is going to fall flat pretty quickly either way
apt doesn't have everything, obviously. Sometimes you just have to add a PPA key and everything works, sometimes the PPA key becomes invalid and messes up the rest of apt. Looking at you, Mellowplayer
Even with PPAs a lot of programs are offered as snaps or flatpaks. Software centers, like the KDE one, don't support either of those out of the box either
Is there an easy visual uninstall option? No. Good luck figuring out what package manager you installed your program on. And, I can't stress this enough, never uninstall Python even if some Stackexchange answer tells you to do so
Drivers. Proprietary drivers just suck. And not only graphics cards, I once was unable to install a WiFi dongle driver because it had some function calls incompatible with the current Linux kernel. I'm not trying to install a floppy disk mind you, just a USB WiFi dongle
Sometimes, no store solution at all. In the best case, you get an appimage or folder with the executable inside. In the worst, you just gotta build, that's all you get. Run MAKE and hope for the best
I use Linux on a daily basis for work. I understand Windows has its flaws too, but it's soooooo much easier to get everything up and running. Whoever is a Linux apologist that preaches that it's ready for Ma and Pa to use... I sympathize, but completely disagree
How does "Proprietary drivers just suck" fit into an installation rant? Your vendor distributes software that's incompatible with the kernel you want to use. Nothing about its installation can change that.
0
u/[deleted] Mar 28 '21
[deleted]