Running EOL GUI app from chroot - is it a good idea?

kox · 2022-11-06 08:20:52

I'm using Atom, which has hit EOL and I'd like to continue using it. Within the last month I had to manually fix its dependencies twice. I'm afraid that it's only about time when it can't be fixed easily to work with the latest dependencies.

I'm considering to create a chroot environment and run Atom from there and never update the dependencies there. Do you think it's going to work well? (I need to invest significant time into it, as I have to migrate to Wayland first, something I would otherwise do much later - but I have to set it all up from the start, since if I push it into the future, I risk it not working with the most recent packages).

seth · 2022-11-06 08:51:43

You've just re-invented docker/snap/flatpak/… so all concerns regarding those apply to your approach as well.

There's https://aur.archlinux.org/packages/atom-community-git - though building this monstrosity of course sucks.

kox · 2022-11-06 13:54:49

flatpak may be just what I need. I will be looking into it. Thanks.

seth · 2022-11-06 14:19:40

That's not what I meant…

Those are obviously biased, but still:
http://kmkeen.com/maintainers-matter/
https://ludocode.com/blog/flatpak-is-not-the-future
https://flatkill.org/

Look into an editor/IDE that is still maintained

kox · 2022-11-06 17:08:29

Obviously there are are drawbacks but I'm looking to only run one offline app. I'm not sure if Atom forks will be any good - only time will tell. I think I will try docker actually, docker or chroot, which I assume will give me more control.

TadaenSylvermane · 2022-11-06 19:14:37

seth wrote:

That's not what I meant…
Those are obviously biased, but still:
http://kmkeen.com/maintainers-matter/
https://ludocode.com/blog/flatpak-is-not-the-future
https://flatkill.org/
Look into an editor/IDE that is still maintained

Thank you for the links. I hadn't thought about it much but they are correct, the 2nd article in particular. Was looking for the easy solution but it's not the right one I suppose.

icar · 2022-11-06 19:22:56

I suggest Flatpak. It's easy to generate a package with all the dependencies you want in there. Start with the Freedesktop runtime as a base and add the too-new dependencies.

cfr · 2022-11-06 20:05:16

icar wrote:

I suggest Flatpak. It's easy to generate a package with all the dependencies you want in there. Start with the Freedesktop runtime as a base and add the too-new dependencies.

Did you read any of the links seth posted?

icar · 2022-11-06 20:25:30

Those are obviously biased, but still:

Anyway, that is my suggestion, I don't intend to make this a Reddit-like thread about what is better.

seth · 2022-11-06 20:38:10

There might be a misconception: none is "better" - the problem w/ the approach is not a particular implementation, but the concept.
I won't condone sticking to an unmaintained piece of software as bloated as electron/atom, but if you want to use it in an isolated context, you're looking for a virtual machine.

Arch Linux

#1 2022-11-06 08:20:52

Running EOL GUI app from chroot - is it a good idea?

#2 2022-11-06 08:51:43

Re: Running EOL GUI app from chroot - is it a good idea?

#3 2022-11-06 13:54:49

Re: Running EOL GUI app from chroot - is it a good idea?

#4 2022-11-06 14:19:40

Re: Running EOL GUI app from chroot - is it a good idea?

#5 2022-11-06 17:08:29

Re: Running EOL GUI app from chroot - is it a good idea?

#6 2022-11-06 19:14:37

Re: Running EOL GUI app from chroot - is it a good idea?

#7 2022-11-06 19:22:56

Re: Running EOL GUI app from chroot - is it a good idea?

#8 2022-11-06 20:05:16

Re: Running EOL GUI app from chroot - is it a good idea?

#9 2022-11-06 20:25:30

Re: Running EOL GUI app from chroot - is it a good idea?

#10 2022-11-06 20:38:10

Re: Running EOL GUI app from chroot - is it a good idea?

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