Using LibreOffice as an example, the debian package currently available is at version 5.4.4 (for about two months now). However, the snap package that they offer is still at version 5.4.3.2. This situation has made me think of this question:
Since it appears that a developer may or may not keep debian and snap packages for an application at the same version, in the future when a developer offers both types of packages for an application, how is a user supposed to know which – debian or snap – to use? What practical means does a user have to know for each application how that application’s developer will manage version control debian versus snap?
i think in fact @oSoMoN maintains both packages currently and 5.4.4 is in the candidate channel waiting for user feedback since last week …
note that the deb is at 5.1.6/4.2.8 in the xenial/trusty LTS archives … if you dont run a development release of ubuntu, you will not actually get the latest deb unless someone bothers to backport it…
I was using the LibreOffice situation simply as an example. My question is more general: In the future, when I need application X, how do I practically determine which I should work with - deb or snap - if I am interested in the most current version of the application? How will I know in each case how the maintainer will manage version control deb versus snap?
It depends upon whoever creates a snap package as to how up-to-date they maintain it. Debian packages in the Ubuntu repositories, however, must follow strict guidelines about updating which usually means that once a release is cut the version of your favourite app will be static until the next Ubuntu release which you might decide not to upgrade to if you like to remain on LTS branch for example.
Snap packages are designed to allow the developer to release out of the standard Ubuntu, and other distros, cycles specifically to allow the developer to keep the packages up-to-date without process and procedure of the distros blocking them.
