I want to switch to openSuSE Tumbleweed in future as I’ve used openSuSE (before Tumbleweed was a thing) and I really like the distro. However I remember that the last time I’ve used openSuSE ~2012, there were some programs I needed/wanted missing in the repos so I often had to either compile them from sources or use a foreign package (most often Mandriva/Fedora).
That’s why being able to access ubuntu/debian repos (one of the biggest software repos, so much so that some programs are available ONLY there or via “holy trinity” of configure && make && make install) if the software I need is not available in openSuSE’s repos is important to me. I am reasonably competent with openSuSE and Linux as a whole (my first Linux being Knoppix and the first I’ve actually installed on my computer Mandrake 10.1) so I am confident such a thing is possible. However I do not know how to go about doing it safely, i.e. without rendering my system unbootable.
Consider using Distrobox.
Not familiar with this great piece of software? In short, it is a tool that allows you to run different Linux distributions (like Ubuntu, Fedora, Arch, etc.) simultaneously as containers on your computer.
The best part is that Distrobox integrates these with your desktop environment. This means you can run applications, including GUI ones, inside a container as if they were part of your main operating system
openSUSE uses RPM packages - it doesn’t use Debian packages and isn’t designed to - and trying to do that will likely render the system unusable.
That said, you can use a tool like distrobox to create a containerized Debian or Ubuntu installation that you can run apt or whatever debian-based tools in to install packages that are only available that way.
Can’t remember right now, it’s been over 10 years. Might’ve been added since I had to stop using Linux due to work ~2014. But what I remember is that it was some obscure tool.
Maybe then cross that bridge if and when you get there, rather than trying to figure out how to use a tool that would break your system.
If it can be installed using ./configure && make && sudo make install, it can very likely be built using the Open Build Services as a package for openSUSE and be installed using the proper tools.
Searching for “Linux Smart Package Manager” revealed that, it was but, no longer, available for openSUSE – sorry, there are only an outdated German language Wiki entries –
That is 20 years old. I wouldn’t be inclined to trust it, as things have changed a lot since then.
Stable release is 17 years old. Again, I wouldn’t be inclined to trust this.
Looking to change the package management tool because of a single obscure tool that the OP doesn’t even remember what it was is almost certainly the wrong decision when better options (mentioned in this discussion) are available - distrobox or just using obs to build an openSUSE RPM from source so the proper dependencies can be located and installed properly.
Those are much better options than trying something that will almost certainly break the system in some way.
Agreed – using “old” software, regardless of how reliable it used to be, is a case of “program execution with unknown risks” …
On the other hand, “old” software can be reliable – NASA recently managed to reactivate some code on Voyager 1 which was launched in 1977 – that code has been executing under extreme conditions for 47 years …
Returning to this planet and APT package installation on an RPM system –
Yes, it seems that, there was some development carried out to write an application which could install APT packages on an RPM system but, it has stalled …
For whatever reason …
Which means, currently, installing APT packages on an RPM system ain’t possible – no way – it’s a nice dream but, shame about the actual status of the project …
Of course, Voyager 1 hasn’t undergone significant hardware upgrades or complex operating systems upgrades involving gigabytes of updates over the past 47 years, either. It’s an incredible piece of engineering from many different perspectives, but not really comparable to a PC running any operating system in history, as it’s a completely bespoke system unique to its particular deployment circumstances.
I mean, it seems to me that if you need apt for something, you should use an OS that uses that as its package manager. Even if such a program were usable on an RPM-based system, I would expect it to be nigh unsupportable, and if anything on the system was broken, that would be the first place to get the blame.
Which is one reason why solutions like distrobox or virtualization are so handy.
Try searching via https://software.opensuse.org and I at least almost always find what I need. Be careful with private repo’s and Factory and do not install using 1 Click Install but use the Expert Download method.
And it might work. Dependency names are different between distros, so often you have to figure out what the dependency is called in openSUSE and install that - and then ignore deps when installing the converted RPM.
Not a great option, IMO. Better to either look for a flatpak/snap/AppImage source, or to just do a build in OBS that has the proper dependency names.
I would consider Alien a ‘last resort’ to be used by someone with expertise, not a tool for new users.
By definition, this sounds like an app that is not too popular for general consumption, and if it is relevant for rather limited audience, the official distribution packagers are not too eager to provide such tools as part of the regular distribution.
Of course, many tools do have packaging scripts set up by the developers, so you could just try and build it using RPM or Open Build Service. Or chances are, that someone else who needs the tool might have done it already.
