Conary or apt-get?

Filed in archive Utilities on March 6, 2007

First, I wish that Linux Software installation is as easy as the Mac - just copy the application package to a directory and run it off of that. Deleting it just requires dragging that same file to the trash bin and emptying it. Easy, right? :)

Anyway, in Linux, I prefer using apt-get or its GUI-cousin, Synaptic. Whilst it is not as easy as Mac OS X's way of application installation management, it is close... until you hit some dependency problems. :(

A second-generation application package manager used by rPath is now available on other distributions. Linux.com features this new package manager.

rPath's Conary is a second-generation package manager. Considering that Erik Troan, rPath's CTO and co-founder, was one of the original authors of the RPM package format, some might be tempted to view Conary as an effort to do things right the second time around -- nor is that view far from wrong. In its design, Conary is a streamlined version of dpkg or RPM with Yum in which all the utilities of those package managers are combined in a single command and combined with version control to meet the demands of a modern distribution.

Whilst I have yet to try it out, I am wondering if it makes it easier to solve those dependency issues when installing software. The question now is - will it gain traction and take over the likes of apt-get, dpkg and rpm?