Ubuntu introduced it’s suspending its plans to transition the CUPS printing stack in Ubuntu to a snap as an alternative of native DEBs.
Snap is the containerized format that Canonical is pushing in Ubuntu. Linux software packages historically pull in any dependencies they want, however this may often trigger conflicts if completely different apps require completely different variations of the identical dependency.
Snap — in addition to the competing Flatpak format — are packages that comprise all of their mandatory dependencies. In consequence, dependency conflicts are fully eradicated. As well as, slowermoving steady Linux distros like Debian and Ubuntu LTS can nonetheless have the newest packages because the self-contained snaps and Flatpaks don’t want the underlying system to be the newest and best.
Whereas numerous distros assist Flatpak, Snap was developed by Ubuntu. The distro has been more and more utilizing snaps for some functions and packages and was planning on migrating the CUPS printing stack to a snap in model 23.10.
In accordance with Ubuntu’s Until Kamppeter, CUPS will proceed to make use of the native DEB format for 23.10 and as an alternative make the swap in 24.04.
We have now determined to revert to DEB-package primarily based printing and transfer the switchover out to Ubuntu 24.10.
We at the moment are already lengthy after Function Freeze and shortly earlier than Person Interface Freeze and the desktop integration has taken longer than anticipated. Particularly additionally the wants of printer setup instruments for the flavors want some extra time. Additionally GNOME Management Heart is present process a serious UI modernization and we have to merge with it. And for offering the Frequent Print Dialog backends in Snap, the session D-Bus assist in snapd must get lastly launched.
To not do high-impact adjustments in an LTS we are going to skip 24.04 LTS and do the switchover in 24.10 on the earliest. In the intervening time I maintain the DEB bundle as a lot in sync as doable with Debian’s packages.
