If you are using only Docker, you don’t need a Linux distribution at all. Just install alpine slim, busybox, or any Kubernetes worker node build.
Flatpak, much like snap, appimage, and other programs trying to shove old, hole-ridden libraries down my throat under the pretext that “the build is too complex,” is not the kind of software I would welcome on my PC. I’d rather build the application by hand.
Alpine is still a Linux distro, just a lighter one. Also, busybox is a set of standard utilities as an alternative to coreutils; I have no idea how it’s particularly relevant here.
The thing is, I’m not using only Docker. I also use native nginx as a reverse proxy, for which I like Debian’s defaults, as well as SyncThing, which are both well-maintained packages in Debian. Also I kind of prefer glibc distros. While glibc kind of sucks, so much stuff I like using prefers or requires it; for instance, last I saw, mDNS/Avahi resolution on BusyBox was kind of a pain in the rear.
Most of what I use Flatpak for isn’t network-facing or opening unverified files anyway; the most important applications I do run the native Debian version. Honestly, truth be told, you are correct that I do often prefer native versions and will run the native Debian package if possible (and considering the current age of stable, a lot of them really aren’t that old; Inkscape is basically still the latest version, for instance, while Firefox is always kept to the latest ESR); at some point, though, I do find a Debian package that is too behind to do what I do (though rare, TBH), and despite some issues with Flatpak, at the end of the day, I need to just get a piece of software installed and get on with my day. In that case, I just do a Benjamin Sisko:
If you are using only Docker, you don’t need a Linux distribution at all. Just install alpine slim, busybox, or any Kubernetes worker node build.
Flatpak, much like snap, appimage, and other programs trying to shove old, hole-ridden libraries down my throat under the pretext that “the build is too complex,” is not the kind of software I would welcome on my PC. I’d rather build the application by hand.