Why should I even bother packaging for Fedora?¶
Packaging to Linux distributions will help both your project and the ecosystem in general.
As a user¶
Even as a user of a particular project you can get involved.
You are probably an early explorer of the project¶
If something is not packaged in a distro it is likely someone else did not have your same set of interests or found the project. You might be an early pioneer and at some point someone has to do the work of distributing the project and sharing it more broadly. That could be you.
If packaging seems too big of a commitment, you can still help by letting others know about your interest in one of the various Fedora channels [1]. Worst case scenario, people are just too busy with maintaining other packages, but what they will always offer is guidance for how you can do the work yourself.
You do not need to be a developer to be a packager¶
To be a packager you do not need in depth knowledge of a project, its surrounding ecosystem or sometimes even the programming language it uses. Basic knowledge of how to install, and run the project is all that is required technically to be packager. Surprisingly what you need more are people skills to communicate with the upstream and fellow packagers.
curl ... | bash is a security nightmare¶
Probably as a user this is how you were introduced to install a project. But have you checked what it is actually doing? Does it not do something fishy? As a packager you are vetting that a project is what it claims to be, and it is working properly. Other users would then not have to analyze the project.
A package is too old or has trouble keeping up¶
This often happens because of the lack of time of the main packager. This is where you can help, either by helping with the updates, or just letting the packager know that there are users out there who care and are waiting for this.
As a developer¶
Packaging to Fedora will help both your project and the ecosystem in general.
Dependency testing¶
One core part of Linux distributions is making sure things work together. There is extensive testing and automation in Fedora that catch issues as early as possible.
But I do not want to test unstable beta versions¶
This is just kicking the can down the road, where any breakage in the dependency is more your problem then theirs. Many bugs and issues are caught early when a package updates, before it gets to affect you or your users. At that point you get a stronger voice and influence regarding breaking changes.
You get help from the packager¶
Often times when there is a dependency issue, a packager would catch it in a different package, and would offer to help you with a patch.
You get reverse dependency checks¶
If you are a library project, it is often hard to figure out how your changes will impact other projects. But if those projects are also packaged in Fedora, you effectively get a reverse dependency testing. And the tools are getting better and better to make this available close to your development cycle.
Knowing the status of the ecosystem¶
Packagers would often know about the state of various projects, which ones are no longer maintained, what alternatives can be used, new projects that try to do the same thing as you do, etc. If something is relevant they will contact you for your opinions.