Update to post

1 files changed, 257 insertions, 2 deletions

diff --git a/content/posts/2024-03-10-the-abysmal-state-of-linux-in-the-year-2024.md b/content/posts/2024-03-10-the-abysmal-state-of-linux-in-the-year-2024.md
index d3b7bc9..da526c7 100644
--- a/content/posts/2024-03-10-the-abysmal-state-of-linux-in-the-year-2024.md
+++ b/content/posts/2024-03-10-the-abysmal-state-of-linux-in-the-year-2024.md
@@ -1,11 +1,13 @@
 ---
-title: "The abysmal state of Linux in the year 2024"
-url: the-abysmal-state-of-linux-in-the-year-2024.html
+title: "The abysmal state of Linux in the year 2024 and a case against shared object libraries"
+url: the-abysmal-state-of-linux-in-the-year-2024-and-a-case-against-shared-object-libraries.html
 date: 2024-03-10T21:41:52+01:00
 type: post
 draft: false
 ---
 
+## Personal critique
+
 This is in part difficult to write, but then I think it is necessary. How
 come Linux is worse than it was 10 years ago. This may very well be
 a subjective opinion, or maybe I am looking at the situation with
@@ -61,6 +63,248 @@ tried to solve some of these things, but until a distribution comes out
 that is completely devoid of shared dependencies, we will still live in
 this purgatory.
 
+Let's compare these two distributions when it comes to packages sizes
+and shared object libraries and see they fair.
+
+## Debian
+
+```ini
+root@debian: cat /etc/os-release
+
+PRETTY_NAME="Debian GNU/Linux 12 (bookworm)"
+NAME="Debian GNU/Linux"
+VERSION_ID="12"
+VERSION="12 (bookworm)"
+VERSION_CODENAME=bookworm
+ID=debian
+HOME_URL="https://www.debian.org/"
+SUPPORT_URL="https://www.debian.org/support"
+BUG_REPORT_URL="https://bugs.debian.org/"
+```
+
+### Top 20 packages by size
+
+```sh
+dpkg-query -W --showformat='${Installed-Size}\t${Package}\n' | sort -nr | head -n 20 | awk '{size=$1;unit="KB"; if (size >= 1024) {size=size/1024; unit="MB"}; if (size >= 1024) {size=size/1024; unit="GB"}; printf "%.2f %s\t%s\n", size, unit, $2}'
+```
+
+| Size      | Package                    |
+|-----------|----------------------------|
+| 651.87 MB | libwine                    |
+| 389.26 MB | linux-image-6.1.0-18-amd64 |
+| 345.76 MB | brave-browser              |
+| 323.74 MB | google-chrome-stable       |
+| 265.31 MB | llvm-14-dev                |
+| 225.76 MB | firefox-esr                |
+| 141.77 MB | fluid-soundfont-gm         |
+| 114.67 MB | libreoffice-core           |
+| 113.41 MB | containerd.io              |
+| 112.77 MB | libnvidia-rtcore           |
+| 111.92 MB | libllvm15                  |
+| 106.56 MB | ibus-data                  |
+| 104.92 MB | libllvm14                  |
+| 99.20 MB  | docker-ce                  |
+| 77.39 MB  | docker-buildx-plugin       |
+| 72.00 MB  | libwebkit2gtk-4.1-0        |
+| 71.93 MB  | libwebkit2gtk-4.0-37       |
+| 70.51 MB  | libwebkitgtk-6.0-4         |
+| 69.25 MB  | nvidia-kernel-dkms         |
+| 66.64 MB  | gcc-12                     |
+
+This is more or less fresh system that is being used daily for work.
+
+### Number of packages installed
+
+```sh
+dpkg -l | grep '^ii' | wc -l
+
+2217
+```
+
+### Number of shared object libraries on system (*.so)
+
+*Note: Some of them could be symlinks to each other so take this with
+a grain of salt.*
+
+```sh
+find /lib /lib64 /usr/lib /usr/lib64 -follow -type f -name "*.so.*" | wc -l
+
+5156
+```
+
+### Shared objects sorted by size
+
+```sh
+find /lib /lib64 /usr/lib /usr/lib64 -type f -name "*.so.*" -exec du -h {} + | sort -rh | head -n 20
+```
+
+| Size | Package                                                        |
+|------|----------------------------------------------------------------|
+| 113M | /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libnvidia-rtcore.so.525.147.05       |
+| 112M | /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libLLVM-15.so.1                      |
+| 105M | /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libLLVM-14.so.1                      |
+| 70M  | /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libwebkit2gtk-4.1.so.0.12.8          |
+| 70M  | /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libwebkit2gtk-4.0.so.37.67.8         |
+| 69M  | /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libwebkitgtk-6.0.so.4.4.8            |
+| 57M  | /usr/lib/llvm-14/lib/libclang-cpp.so.14                        |
+| 45M  | /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libnode.so.108                       |
+| 43M  | /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libnvidia-glcore.so.525.147.05       |
+| 41M  | /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libnvidia-eglcore.so.525.147.05      |
+| 31M  | /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libmozjs-102.so.102.15.1             |
+| 30M  | /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libicudata.so.72.1                   |
+| 30M  | /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libclang-14.so.14.0.6                |
+| 29M  | /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/nvidia/current/libcuda.so.525.147.05 |
+| 28M  | /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libjavascriptcoregtk-6.0.so.1.1.14   |
+| 28M  | /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libjavascriptcoregtk-4.1.so.0.4.14   |
+| 28M  | /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libjavascriptcoregtk-4.0.so.18.23.14 |
+| 24M  | /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libnvidia-glvkspirv.so.525.147.05    |
+| 23M  | /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libz3.so.4                           |
+| 22M  | /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libgs.so.10.00                       |
+
+## Fedora
+
+```ini
+root@fedora: cat /etc/os-release
+
+NAME="Fedora Linux"
+VERSION="36 (Workstation Edition)"
+ID=fedora
+VERSION_ID=36
+VERSION_CODENAME=""
+PLATFORM_ID="platform:f36"
+PRETTY_NAME="Fedora Linux 36 (Workstation Edition)"
+ANSI_COLOR="0;38;2;60;110;180"
+LOGO=fedora-logo-icon
+CPE_NAME="cpe:/o:fedoraproject:fedora:36"
+HOME_URL="https://fedoraproject.org/"
+DOCUMENTATION_URL="https://docs.fedoraproject.org/en-US/fedora/f36/system-administrators-guide/"
+SUPPORT_URL="https://ask.fedoraproject.org/"
+BUG_REPORT_URL="https://bugzilla.redhat.com/"
+REDHAT_BUGZILLA_PRODUCT="Fedora"
+REDHAT_BUGZILLA_PRODUCT_VERSION=36
+REDHAT_SUPPORT_PRODUCT="Fedora"
+REDHAT_SUPPORT_PRODUCT_VERSION=36
+PRIVACY_POLICY_URL="https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Legal:PrivacyPolicy"
+SUPPORT_END=2023-05-16
+VARIANT="Workstation Edition"
+VARIANT_ID=workstation
+```
+
+### Top 20 packages by size
+
+```sh
+rpm -qa --queryformat '%{SIZE}\t%{NAME}\n' | sort -rn | head -n 20 | awk '{size=$1;unit="B"; if (size >= 1024) {size=size/1024; unit="KB"}; if (size >= 1024) {size=size/1024; unit="MB"}; if (size >= 1024) {size=size/1024; unit="GB"}; printf "%.2f %s\t%s\n", size, unit, $2}'
+```
+
+| Size      | Package                      |
+|-----------|------------------------------|
+| 572.91 MB | google-cloud-sdk             |
+| 559.76 MB | wine-core                    |
+| 530.12 MB | wine-core                    |
+| 383.76 MB | code                         |
+| 350.98 MB | golang-bin                   |
+| 318.04 MB | brave-browser                |
+| 302.78 MB | google-chrome-stable         |
+| 282.24 MB | libreoffice-core             |
+| 273.43 MB | firefox                      |
+| 253.00 MB | ocaml                        |
+| 223.60 MB | proj-data-us                 |
+| 219.46 MB | zoom                         |
+| 217.81 MB | glibc-all-langpacks          |
+| 199.31 MB | qemu-user                    |
+| 196.79 MB | edk2-aarch64                 |
+| 194.77 MB | fluid-soundfont-lite-patches |
+| 194.25 MB | java-17-openjdk-headless     |
+| 176.75 MB | java-11-openjdk-headless     |
+| 156.80 MB | pandoc                       |
+| 154.82 MB | qt5-qtwebengine              |
+
+What is interesting that the most of these packages are from a a system
+that are daily in use.
+
+### Number of packages installed
+
+```sh
+dnf list installed | tail -n +3 | wc -l
+
+3484
+```
+
+### Number of shared object libraries on system (*.so)
+
+*Note: Some of them could be symlinks to each other so take this with
+a grain of salt.*
+
+```sh
+find /lib /lib64 /usr/lib /usr/lib64 -follow -type f -name "*.so.*" | wc -l
+
+8894
+```
+
+### Shared objects sorted by size
+
+```sh
+find /lib /lib64 /usr/lib /usr/lib64 -type f -name "*.so.*" -exec du -h {} + | sort -rh | head -n 20
+```
+
+| Size | Package                                                                        |
+|------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
+| 128M | /usr/lib64/libQt5WebEngineCore.so.5.15.10                                      |
+| 55M  | /usr/lib64/llvm13/lib/libclang-cpp.so.13                                       |
+| 53M  | /usr/lib64/libclang-cpp.so.14                                                  |
+| 50M  | /usr/lib64/libwebkit2gtk-4.0.so.37.57.6                                        |
+| 49M  | /usr/lib64/libnode.so.93                                                       |
+| 45M  | /usr/lib64/libOpenImageDenoise.so.1.4.3                                        |
+| 33M  | /usr/lib64/llvm13/lib/libclang.so.13.0.1                                       |
+| 30M  | /usr/lib64/libclang.so.14.0.5                                                  |
+| 29M  | /usr/lib64/libopenvdb.so.9.0.0                                                 |
+| 28M  | /usr/lib/libicudata.so.69.1                                                    |
+| 28M  | /usr/lib64/libmozjs-78.so.0.0.0                                                |
+| 28M  | /usr/lib64/libicudata.so.69.1                                                  |
+| 26M  | /usr/lib64/libusd_usd_ms.so.0                                                  |
+| 26M  | /usr/lib64/libgdal.so.30.0.3                                                   |
+| 22M  | /usr/lib64/libjavascriptcoregtk-4.0.so.18.21.6                                 |
+| 22M  | /usr/lib64/libgs.so.9.56                                                       |
+| 22M  | /usr/lib64/google-cloud-sdk/platform/bundledpythonunix/lib/libpython3.9.so.1.0 |
+| 17M  | /usr/lib64/libgtkd-3.so.0.9.0                                                  |
+| 17M  | /usr/lib64/libgeocoding.so.8.12                                                |
+| 14M  | /usr/lib64/libmfxhw64.so.1.35                                                  |
+
+## Quick observation
+
+```
+/usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libjavascriptcoregtk-6.0.so.1.1.14
+/usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libjavascriptcoregtk-4.1.so.0.4.14
+/usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libjavascriptcoregtk-4.0.so.18.23.14
+```
+
+These three packages are probably used by three different applications,
+and nothing else needs them. I could be mistaken, but in any case they
+should just be packages alongside the application that requires them
+and be done with it.
+
+## So, now what?
+
+The main point is that, yes these packages can be big, but if we are
+honest, what would a couple of additional megabytes that would include
+shared object libraries actually do? Probably nothing! And it would make
+maintenance an entirely different game.
+
+There is also this big elephant in the room, the users. They aren't
+concerned about package dependencies. They don't care if an application
+is 20 MB bigger. Nobody cares! But they certainly do care about borked
+systems and non-working dependencies and hunting for solutions why
+`libFlac` was not found even though they have it installed.
+
+Operating systems should abstract these complexities away from the
+user. And I am not saying that the Linux kernel is at fault. I mean the
+operating system as a whole.
+
+This is why I am a massive proponent of
+[AppImages](https://appimage.org/). Flatpaks and Snaps are OK, but they
+still have their own package management and the whole dependency problem
+because they try to optimize for space, and they sacrifice the simplicity.
+
 It would be an interesting exercise to make a prototype distribution
 that does not rely on shared objects, but has everything packed in
 AppImages. Probably a foolish endeavor, but maybe worth looking into. I
@@ -73,6 +317,17 @@ more options we have, the worse it gets. Wayland competing with X. So
 many window managers, you just get lost. So many choices. I have no idea
 if this is even salvageable, or something new must be invented.
 
+Honorable mention goes to [AppImageHub](https://www.appimagehub.com/). If
+possible, I continually try to find applications there and take care of
+updating them myself. I don't need hand holding or a constant up-to date
+system. I just want my system to be stable and when some application has
+gotten some significant new features I can download that myself. It's
+about the choice and not being forced into this churn that requires
+constant updating and keeping up with things. At this point, using Linux
+is more like a second job, and I was so stoked when this was not a case
+anymore in the past. This is why I feel like the last 10 years were a
+regression disguised as progress.
+
 Some interesting talks and videos
 
 - [Jonathan Blow on how an operating system should work](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0uE_chSnV8)