Valve Collab With Arch

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Zema Bus
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Valve Collab With Arch

Post by Zema Bus »

Recently we had the big news that Valve (Steam) began a collaboration with Arch Linux, to help fund two very specific parts of the Linux distribution. Now, we have a bit more info on what it means.

After an interview recently from the A1RM4X YouTube channel with an Arch Linux developer, Antiz, they took to Reddit to explain things a little bit further to help people understand what's happening. Here's an excerpt:
Basically, the way packages are currently built / managed still requires a few manual interventions from Package Maintainers (e.g. triggering the build itself and signing the built packages afterwards). As of now, supporting multiple architectures would mean multiplying those manual steps by the number of supported / targeted architectures. With the current number of packages compared to the current number of (volunteers) Package Maintainers maintaining them, Arch is not able to handle the extra amount of effort that it would imply.

A central build service and a central secure signing enclave (the two projects concerned by that Valve "sponsoring") would streamline the overall process by allowing automated build and signing for packages without requiring any manual steps / interventions from Package Maintainers anymore (and it will also allow to increase the security of the process as a side benefit). Only such a streamlined / automated workflow would allow us to start working on supporting multiple architectures without implying to multiply the current amount of required effort.

In other words, those projects are prerequisites to start working on multiple architectures support in a clean & sane way, which is a end goal shared by both Arch and Valve.
So basically, a lot of it is towards supporting multiple architectures. And with the news that Valve are seemingly working on supporting some form of Arm and Android support (likely for a future VR headset), this definitely makes sense. Especially when Valve already use Arch Linux for SteamOS on the Steam Deck, it seems increasingly likely that Valve will use an Arch Linux base for what comes next.

Antiz has also been replying to other comments on Reddit, in one post noting that it is very much their "end goal" for Arch Linux to support multiple architectures.

Check out the full interview on the A1RM4X YouTube channel with the Arch Linux developer Antiz:
From gamingonlinux.com
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Grogan
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Re: Valve Collab With Arch

Post by Grogan »

I read that (at Phoronix... I don't go to that other site anymore), but it doesn't sound like they are funding anything that will improve our lives. I'm glad they are investing in Arch though, instead of some dictatorial creeps like Ubuntu/Redhat. I hope they switch their "supported system" (more, recommended... they should try to support all) on the desktop too, there's no reason to target Ubuntu when it's one of the worst distributions for Steam and games.
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Zema Bus
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Re: Valve Collab With Arch

Post by Zema Bus »

Yeah at this point with them being all in on Arch (the Steam Deck) it doesn't make any sense to still be listing Ubuntu as the target.
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