13.6 Summary

Until recently, all Ubuntu software packages were stored in .deb files and installed using the Advanced Packaging Tool (APT). An increasing number of packages are now available for installation using Snap, a package management system developed by Canonical, Ltd. Unlike apt packages, snap bundles all of the dependencies for a package into a single .snap file. This ensures that the software package is self-contained with its own copy of all of the libraries and assets needed to run. This avoids the potential conflicts of packages relying on different versions of the same shared assets and libraries. The Snap system also allows different versions of the same packages to be installed in parallel. All of the software listed in the Ubuntu Software tool are supplied as snap packages. In addition, snap can be used to install, remove and manage packages from the command-line.