INSTALL ANY GNU / LINUX APPLICATION IN DEEPIN

INSTALL APPLICATIONS IN DEEPIN

One of the big problems in GNU / Linux is that there are a vast variety of distributions, each with installation methods different versions, or with versions that only work on certain distributions, causing many of the programs available for one distribution cannot be used in another. Deepinit is obviously no exception.

However, today there are already several solutions to obtain an application even when it is not in the App Store. This text intends to instruct you on the different installation methods and that, in this way, you know how to obtain the applications that you miss in Deepin.

Deepin application store (AppStore)

Without a doubt, the most recommended and simple option. As long as the application is in the store and you do not need (or want) to have the latest version of the program, I would opt for this method, since it will be more optimized in system resources than the alternative options and it will surely go away to better integrate with OS.

Curiously the repository* has more programs than are displayed in the store. If we want to obtain any of them, we can use the terminal (explained in the following link install programs with apt) or through a package manager, such as Synaptic (available in the store).

But what if the program is not in the store, or I want to have the latest version of it? In that case, we will use any of the following alternatives:

Deepines Store

In the community Deepin in Spanish We work hard to minimize the shortcomings and failures that Deepin harbors. As a result of this effort, the Deepines Store, in which we add a large number of programs that we consider not up to date enough, as well as applications that are not directly in the system's own repository.

Descargar “Deepines Store” deepines-store_1.3.3_amd64.deb – Descargado 57579 veces – 4 MB

TERMS OF USE |MD5SUMS SHA256

Installation via .deb file

It is the closest thing to a .exe of Windows. You download it and with a couple of clicks it installs (as long as there are no problems with dependencies*). It has the same advantages as the installation from the store, only that in this case, we will use it to add external software to the Deepin repository. If there are several options, the safest thing is to download the deb for Debian, in the corresponding version in which bases the Deepin you are using.

Note that some .deb are simply not compatible with Deepin, or can be installed, but forcing them, something that is not recommended, also requires advanced knowledge to do it correctly and without break the system. If you have problems or doubts when installing packages .deb, we recommend consult in the forum or in the community Telegram group.

Flatpak, Snap and AppImage

All of the above was based on the use of .deb files for the installation of the program, of whose efficiency there is no doubt, but it pales in terms of portability. In other words, a .deb only and only for Debian may not work for Deepin and much less for distros that are not branches of Debian.

In order to deal with this problem, universal packaging formats for all GNU / Linux. These formats very frequently offer the applications updated to the latest version, however, they do not usually perform as well as the .deb ones and the integration with the system is worse (such as sales decorations or some functionality not being activated). In the following table we will make a brief summary of the most popular formats highlighting their strengths and weaknesses.

GitHub

Many applications are available for download only on source code platforms such as GitHub. For developers it is a very useful tool. However, it is somewhat more complicated to install than the other methods. It is usually installed with the compiler «make" -on the terminal- similar to this example:

wget http://direccion_de_descarga_de_programa_de_ejemplo.tar.gz
tar -xzf programa_de_ejemplo.tar.gz
cd programa_de_ejemplo
./configure
make
make check
sudo make install

This is not always the case, for this the developer usually adds the installation documentation in a readme (read me) or on the project website itself.

Docker

It is a packaging tool that adds all the necessary dependencies and isolates the program from the operating system and is mainly used to install programs on localhost Y Development Environments for different programming languages. Like Github, it requires prior knowledge to install with this method, on our wiki you can see a introduction to Docker and how to install it.

Recapitulating all of the above, Deepin offers a great variety of free software (and other commercials, with a extensive catalog for all tastes), but, generally, not in its latest versions. We have covered several options that will allow us to add additional software. Sometimes the program we are looking for is only available in one of the installation methods, in that case, we will have no choice but to use that method, but if the program can be installed in various formats, I would recommend that less expert users install preferably in the following order: Deepines Store> Flatpak or Appimage> Snap> Github> Docker, mainly considering the ease of installation.

**[1] Repository - Collection of one or more downloadable applications from a server. Info on the wiki

**[2] Dependencies – Es una aplicación requerida por otro programa para poder funcionar correctamente. Info on the wiki