Klik?
Well, it seams that one-click-self-contained-MacOSX-like packaging of applications is finally available on linux as well.
KLIK is a kind of a packaging “system” but not in the full meaning of the word. What KLIK is trying to do is to distribute applications that do not need any outside dependecies, for example libraries, runtime environments, etc. Everyting should be included in one file/archive, so you can run the application just with a “click.”
The whole system works like this:
* User installs a “klik-client” by entering
wget klik.atekon.de/client/install -O -|sh
into console.
* Then he has to restart Firefox, so it registers a new “protocol” called “klick://”
* Then visit http://klik.atekon.de/, pick your application and click on it.
* klik-client then downloads the desired application and puts it on your desktop (~/Desktop/)
* All you have to do is double click on that and “voila” - the application is running :)
It sure is a interesting concept and a more interesting realisation of it, but it is promissing. It’s a little rough around the edges (I couldn’t get it to run in the first try on Slackware, because of some directory error), but it shows potential. It’s a must-try!
This is a similar concept to what MacOSX users know for ages. And as such I know I’ve been missing such easy software packaging system on linux. No more dependency hell, no more “you can’t use this because it needs CVS84820129-version of this-and-this library, but you have CVS84820128-version installed”, no more “installation of linux programs is so difficult” comments from windows-using trolls.
December 12th, 2005 at 07:51
Klik is ok at first. But in the long run I don’t think it would work for large collection of applications because of shared libs and stuff. With Klik you would probably get _more_ unsolvable problems then with normal packaging software.
Up-to-now I think autopackage is the closest to what you’d want to achieve.