Understanding the differences between Debian and Snap packages
Now, before we actually get into the ins and outs of managing packages, there are actually two completely different types of packages available to you, and you should understand the differences between them. As of the time of writing, we're at a kind of crossroads regarding the way in which software is managed in Linux.
Traditionally, each distribution has its own package format, and its own utilities to manage them. Ubuntu utilizes Debian packages (with package names ending in .deb
) as the main package format, which Ubuntu inherits from the Debian distribution (Ubuntu is forked from Debian, which means that it uses Debian as a foundation). Ubuntu and Debian utilize the apt
and dpkg
commands to manage packages. On the other hand, distributions such as CentOS and Red Hat use RPM packages for their distributions, and the dnf
command to manage them. First, let's discuss Debian packages.