"AM" 9.4
Initial support for *BSD
This version of "AM" brings with it a refactoring that allows it to run on freeBSD and derivatives.
Please note that at the moment, "AM" supports the installation of portable applications for GNU/Linux only.
On BSD-based systems, it is necessary to perform the necessary configurations to allow both binary programs and AppImages to be executed, by installing the appropriate Linux compatibility layout.
There are several guides on this subject, the main one is https://docs.freebsd.org/en/books/handbook/linuxemu/
A simplification of the above guide, oriented to the use of debootstrap is also available here. Thanks to it, I was able to run some test AppImages on GhostBSD
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 |
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|---|---|---|
google-chrome AppImage |
brave AppImage |
lxtask AppImage |
Note that Chromium-based AppImages require the --no-sandbox flag.
All that glitters is not gold
Please note that "AM" is not responsible for the failure of programs, whether they are on Linux or BSD, and that all "AM" does is download and integrate/install programs into the system, taking them from the source.
In fact, this release allows you to use all aspects of "AM" on BSD, but the failure to run programs has nothing to do with "AM".
BSD systems require additional configuration to run programs written for Linux. In my experiments in virtual machines, I can't help but show failures. For example, running "Archimages" (Arch Linux containers inside Appimages) as in the screenshot below, with gimp and bottles
It's just a matter of configuring the right settings, following the guides.
Toolpacks on BSD
Several programs from the Toolpacks database appear to be BSD-compatible, as they are static binaries. To see a list and install them, see the --toolpack flag reference (command am -h for more information).
Future
This release is just an introduction to BSD support. Experts are encouraged to participate in improving this support on "AM".
There are two possible ways:
- add a directory to this database that contains only installation scripts for BSD-compatible programs. You can also select those that work in tests. At the moment, "AM" only has installation scripts for x86_64, aarch64 and i686 architectures on Linux. It would be nice to add another one that works for BSD https://github.com/ivan-hc/AM/tree/main/programs
- add a script that can automate the creation of a compatibility layout for Linux, based on the official guides, so as to allow, in a single command, the addition or removal of this support, a guide is available here https://github.com/ivan-hc/AM/blob/main/docs/guides-and-tutorials/bsd.md
Other changes
lessis now an "optional" dependency (but suggested in-hand-l) by @Samueru-sama- fixed several bugs related to versioning
- removed other basic dependencies, such as
stringsby @Samueru-sama - improved table generation speed in
-fby @Samueru-sama - better versioning for self-updating applications, through permission levels
- ported a good part of the code to POSIX by @Samueru-sama
- new functions to use and switch between
sedon a per-implementation basis (default is GNU) by @Samueru-sama
What's Changed
- Beautify sandbox exit messages by @ivan-hc in #1192
- wrap long lines around by @Samueru-sama in #1193
- Option "-h" or "help", add instructions on how to test scripts downloaded ("-d") or created ("-t"). by @ivan-hc in #1196
- allow setting
$SCRIPTDIRby @Samueru-sama in #1197 - Fix "$SCRIPTDIR" in sistems without XDG_DESKTOP_DIR by @ivan-hc in #1198
- only warn about namespaces check if unshare is present by @Samueru-sama in #1200
- simplify check for
${SUDO,DOAS}_USERby @Samueru-sama in #1202 - improve check for cpu arch by @Samueru-sama in #1203
- improve check for sudo by @Samueru-sama in #1204
- Various fixes between APP-MANAGER, INSTALL and AM-INSTALLER by @ivan-hc in #1205
- "AM" 9.4: support for FreeBSD by @ivan-hc & @Samueru-sama in #1209
Full Changelog: 9.3...9.4
