"AM"/"AppMan" v6.2.1-2 and my push towards creating a community driven repository

[ivan-hc]

With this new sub-release I am working on pushing towards the use of a database external to the one I have built almost entirely alone in these 3 years.

Tonight I began to combine as many variables as possible to simplify this transition.

I'm happy to provide you with this tool, but I don't want to monopolize the application database. Everyone should be free to upload whatever they want into the database and organize a community repository, regardless of me.

I could not be there at any moment and I would find myself with dozens of requests from applications to load, or that will not be loaded. I want to break this chain and allow anyone to organize a community database.

You can already fork my repository and view all the installation scripts I have published.

If you have any questions, you can contact me on Github and Reddit.

Ivan

[ivan-hc]

@zen0bit @nazdridoy @DLopezJr what do you think about this?

[nazdridoy]

I'm pleased to see that our argument and debate about whether to make AM modular or not, and ultimately deciding to make it modular, is paying off. Just look at the repo. AM has come a long way from v5.8.3.

[ivan-hc]

today I also wrote a guide on how to create and enable your own database https://github.com/ivan-hc/neodb

[ivan-hc]

@zen0bit the CLI may remain, but there will always be new applications to add, and even better ones.

Do you know what my best AppImage is? GIMP. Like many others, it's just a release that I built to fill the gaps among the apps available in the database... but a couple of days ago I got some wonderful news: the GIMP team has decided to create an official one ivan-hc/GIMP-appimage#21 ! When that happens, I'll be happy to point my scripts towards that official release! This was my goal: to stimulate upstream developers to convince them!

It must be said, however, as I always want to underline... that I could disappear at any moment.

The CLI is a tool that can last forever, it is based on BASH and uses basic Linux terminal commands to work. The other apps, however, change. Always. If my goal of officially adopting them is achieved, I will no longer have any reason to keep all those AppImages, and I will be able to dedicate myself to something else.

As I said, the CLI is something that will always remain, and basically just remove the "sync.am" module and the "$AMCLIPATH -s" command from the "update.am" module (each module, if absent, will be downloaded if invoked, it's written in the code)... so third party patches will always be available. I hope they dedicate blogs or communities around "AM"/"AppMan", because together we move forward.

@Samueru-sama , did you see the other day? My github account was suspended for 15 minutes and all my works were gone, and there are a lot of them... how do you think I, who just wanted to make AppImage popular again, felt in those minutes? Very bad! I feared depriving thousands of people of this service.

This is why at least the database needs to be maintained by third parties, @zen0bit . I make too many commits, the activity can be judged illicit by Microsoft, and in an instant, after a commit... I could move away from github, for days, months, years... without knowing that after that commit you will no longer have had a service that you consider valid.

That's why I care so much about making "AM"/"AppMan" popular. A large community with its own domain would prevent you from missing out on this service.

[Samueru-sama]

Yeah I noticed the delay.

I hope you're doing ok. I don't know if you want to talk privately about this?

[ivan-hc]

@Samueru-sama don't worry, Github had forced the password renewal of some accounts due to suspected illicit activity... and I fell for it too. Maybe I make too many commits? Long story short, they thought it wasn't me... and they suspended me.

[ivan-hc]

If you need to test, you can create a repository containing:

• a directory with the name of your architecture (for example x86_64) containing the installation scripts
• a text file with a list of these applications, named "$arch"-apps (for example, x86_64-apps)

finally, add a file named "neodb" in "$AMPATH", containing the URL to your repositor's items, for example:

https://raw.githubusercontent.com/USER/REPO/main

so, the new two variables included in APP-MANAGER are these:

APPSDB="$(<"$AMPATH/neodb")/$arch"
APPSLISTDB="$(<"$AMPATH/neodb")/$arch-apps"

this means that installation scripts will be taken from

https://raw.githubusercontent.com/USER/REPO/main/x86_64

and the list will be

https://raw.githubusercontent.com/USER/REPO/main/x86_64-apps

so you're free to manage and improve your own apps database or a community one. You don't need me anymore to upload apps.

[ivan-hc]

My idea is to source a script "$AMPATH/neodb" containing the following variables:

APPSDB="$AMREPO/programs/$arch"
APPSLISTDB="$AMREPO/programs/$arch-apps"
AMCATALOGUE="https://PORTABLE-LINUX-APPS.GITHUB.IO"
AMCATALOGUEMARKDOWNS="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Portable-Linux-Apps/Portable-Linux-Apps.github.io/main/apps"
AMCATALOGUEICONS="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Portable-Linux-Apps/Portable-Linux-Apps.github.io/main/icons"

for now I only added the default values you can already see in APP-MANAGER

of course to change the source directory of the scripts $APPSBD, the list of the apps $APPSLISTDB, the catalogue $AMCATALOGUE, the pages to show in -a from $AMCATALOGUEMARKDOWNS and the icons database $AMCATALOGUEICONS you hve to change the values above.

This is not ready yet, any improvement is wellcome.

@nazdridoy what would you do?

we need to validate the script, for example, by finding such values in the neodb script, if not valid then we will use the defaults, and then use it as source.

Involved modules are the ones containing these variables.

NOTE, "$AMCATALOGUEICONS" is used by -i, module install.am, in case the installed app have not an icon in /opt/$APP/icons, if scripts are wrote well, we don't need to invoche that variable

Another solution would be to add contitions in the database.am module, containing the options -a, -l and -q, containing all the other variables... eccept $APPSDB, the more important one, used by install.am, download.am and sync.am, this is the responsible of the installation scripts.

[ivan-hc]

Uhm... let me see...

1. both options -i and -d use this command to check if the script is hosted somewhere

if curl --output /dev/null --silent --head --fail $APPSDB/$arg  1>/dev/null; then

what you say is to add an extra file as a /etc/apt/sources.list and call urls from that list.

So, we can do

elif for url in /path/to/file/with/multiple/urls; then`
        if curl --output /dev/null --silent --head --fail $url/$arg  1>/dev/null; then
...

or something. Like "Archimage" does when checks for packages in regular Arch Linux repositories and AUR.

Not a problem, but I need someone that does this setup, maybe by adding multiple directories in the same repo.

2. If AMCATALOGUE has no value, no URL will be shown in help/-h, nor in the warning messages. Not a problem, they can do whatever they want. Also, a domain can be github.com, sites.google.com... or anything: the user is totally free to add whatever it wants, also its Name/Nikname.

3. this may be connected to point 1, we can also add a case if the same item is in multiple repositories.

So we can merge points 1 and 3 and ignore point 2.

All we need is a function to check the item in multiple urls from a list and then allow the user to choose from where to install7download the app.

[ivan-hc]

@nazdridoy it should be the last function before else, line 219 of install.am module:

elif test -f "$AMPATH/multisources.list"; then

to test if a file "multisources.list" exists, it should include a list of URLs, and then it must check each of them to see if "$arg" exsists, throug a for cycle.

It the result of

if curl --output /dev/null --silent --head --fail $a_url_in_multisources_list/$arg  1>/dev/null; then

gives just one result, then install "$arg" directly, else use case the same way we do in rollback.am

[ivan-hc]

@nazdridoy this is a first draft on how it should appear

				elif test -f "$AMPATH/multisources.list"; then
					MULTIREPO=$(tail -n +2 "$AMPATH/multisources.list")
					for anyrepo in $MULTIREPO; do
						if curl --output /dev/null --silent --head --fail $anyrepo/$arg  1>/dev/null; then
							echo "$anyrepo" >> "$AMPATH/.cache/multirepo-args"
						fi
					done
					printf "Select a URL from this menu (read carefully) or press CTRL+C to abort:\n-----------------------------------------------------------------------\n"; sleep 1;
					select d in $(cat "$AMPATH/.cache/multirepo-args"); do test -n "$d" && break; echo ">>> Invalid Selection"; done
					cd $AMPATH/.cache; mkdir -p tmp; cd tmp; wget -q "$d"; cd ..; mv ./tmp/$arg ./$arg; rmdir ./tmp
					_install_arg
					rm -R -f "$AMPATH/.cache/multirepo-args"
				else

what we miss is a condition if no arguments then skip, if 1 argument then install, if multiple arguments then choose (the latter is already in place)

[ivan-hc]

@nazdridoy I did it 9ebb70a a3e1fa5

add a file "$AMPATH/multisources.list" containing urls and try

I've still to correct other things before publishing the new release

@zen0bit @Samueru-sama give it a try (the install.am module is still in "dev")

https://github.com/ivan-hc/AM/blob/dev/modules/install.am

[ivan-hc]

@nazdridoy now I have another issue... this time is related to the database.am module: how can I put lists/marktowns from such new listed repositories?

EDIT: I've done, only your beloved "about" is left xD

[ivan-hc]

Hi folks new 6.3 release is out https://github.com/ivan-hc/AM/releases/tag/6.3

No new options but important changes that you should be interested in.

[ivan-hc]

UPDATE: new changes for the future 6.4 version... it looks more like Arch Linux's PacMan.

The file "neodb" will not be a script but a configuration file... like this:

#STATUS=quiet

[My generic repository name]
Source=https://your-domain.net/apps
List=https://your-domain.net/x86_64-apps
Markdowns=https://your-domain.net/info

if you enable the flag "STATUS" you'll not receive notifications about third-party repositories usage

I've completed almost all... only Markdowns is left. Here I need the help of @nazdridoy that is the "adoptive father" of that option, so him knows it more than me.

[ivan-hc]

New release 6.4 is here https://github.com/ivan-hc/AM/releases/tag/6.4

Today the best moment was when I tested the -l option and seen the message...

YOU HAVE INSTALLED 6 APPLICATIONS OUT OF 7840 AVAILABLE

this is because I had not yet filtered the 4 times linked the actual x86_64-apps file containing the list of the apps.

Now I've done... but 7840 can be real to reach, now, if you publish more third-party repos

@zen0bit @Samueru-sama @nazdridoy @DLopezJr check it out!

[ivan-hc]

You can test this, if you need:

#STATUS=quiet

[DLopezJr]
Source=https://raw.githubusercontent.com/DLopezJr/AM/main/programs/x86_64
List=https://raw.githubusercontent.com/DLopezJr/AM/main/programs/x86_64-apps
Markdowns=https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Portable-Linux-Apps/Portable-Linux-Apps.github.io/main/apps

[nazdridoy]
Source=https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nazdridoy/AM/main/programs/x86_64
List=https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nazdridoy/AM/main/programs/x86_64-apps
Markdowns=https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Portable-Linux-Apps/Portable-Linux-Apps.github.io/main/apps

[Samueru-sama]
Source=https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Samueru-sama/AM/main/programs/x86_64
List=https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Samueru-sama/AM/main/programs/x86_64-apps
Markdowns=https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Portable-Linux-Apps/Portable-Linux-Apps.github.io/main/apps

[oSoWoSo]
Source=https://raw.githubusercontent.com/oSoWoSo/AM/main/programs/x86_64
List=https://raw.githubusercontent.com/oSoWoSo/AM/main/programs/x86_64-apps
Markdowns=https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Portable-Linux-Apps/Portable-Linux-Apps.github.io/main/apps

try adding/rename random installation scripts in yout x86_64 directory andlist them in the x86_64-apps file, for test pouposes... or try to download or install an existing app, if recent, it should not appear in the menu of the older fork you did.

However, Markdowns must be improved, it should work like -i and -d

[ivan-hc]

I was thinking about the -a/about option and how we can solve with portable-linux-apps.github.io dependence....

...the solution may be rewrite all installation scripts and including the description into them, and through the command:

wget -q https://url-to-raw-script-file -O -

we could grep the part of the file we need to read online.

A community-driven database with the effort of more persons would be the best practice to speedup this task. We need a task force for that.

I wrote almost all these script in three years, but with the effort of more people we can be faster in build the new database.

And from here we would be able to split scripts into different repositories:

https://raw.githubusercontent.com/coomunitidrivendatabaseName/repositoryName/appimages
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/coomunitidrivendatabaseName/repositoryName/archimages
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/coomunitidrivendatabaseName/repositoryName/binaries
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/coomunitidrivendatabaseName/repositoryName/scripts
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/coomunitidrivendatabaseName/repositoryName/tars
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/coomunitidrivendatabaseName/repositoryName/zips
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/coomunitidrivendatabaseName/repositoryName/metascripts
...

and so on.

This way, Source= and Markdowns= may be merged together under the same script. One script containing also the info.

This would be a project to be done all together or in shifts.

We also need a different design for the installation scripts.

NOTE, I am only suggesting. Since the tool is able to use third-party repositories, I decided to work for my CLI, but you as a community have to decide for yourself... so "my wishes as the King/Emperor and absolute owner of this repo & Master of puppets" are limited only to this repository, not to external databases. The chains break here. I've been clear?

[ivan-hc]

UPDATE: I've partially solved the issue about -a/about for third-party apps

if no markdown via curl but the app is in the list (because lists are merged into one), then generate it using the description from the list, but no URL is available, being a third party app

de3bd80

following the style of @nazdridoy 😉

[ivan-hc]

Hi folks, I've solved the issue about... about!

Please, see https://github.com/ivan-hc/AM/releases/tag/6.4.1 for more details.

Ater this, I think this discussion has reached an end.

Furter implementations are wellcome.