Fedora Unleashes Atomic Desktops
Fedora has combined its solid distribution with rpm-ostree system to make it possible to deliver a new family of Fedora spins, called Fedora Atomic Desktops.
With Silverblue continuing to rise in popularity, Fedora saw that rpm-ostree had become a viable option. For those who don't know, rpm-ostree is a hybrid image/package system that bundles all of the necessary components for a system configuration into a single commit that can be deployed across numerous devices.
Atomic desktops solve a problem that will most likely become an issue in the future, as more spins arrive. Currently, Fedora Atomic Desktops is comprised of four atomic spins: Fedora Silverblue, Fedora Kinoite, Fedora Sway Atomic, and Fedora Budgie Atomic.
The problem is, as more and more spins come into being, it becomes more challenging to include other desktops without introducing more complexities and confusion.
By adopting an atomic approach to these spins, it makes it possible to offer the same stability and flexibility as the base Fedora, while also adding rollbacks and rebases (the key advantage of using rpm-ostree).
According to Fedora Magazine, "Going forward, new atomic spins will use the ‘Fedora (DE name) Atomic’ format to keep things simple and clear. No more questions about which name refers to what desktop environment. No more mispronunciations. Much more clarity on why these Fedora spins are different from the regular spins."
This also will aid in documentation. On that, Joseph Gayoso says, "For example, some folks may be looking for documentation on Kinoite not realizing that an article about Silverblue also applies to their problem. Using so many keywords when you’re looking for information on the one aspect they all share is inefficient."
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