Spotify as a Snap, putting the developer in control
Tue, Jan 9, 2018
Just before Christmas Canonical announced that the world’s most popular music streaming service, Spotify, is now available as a Snap, but what makes this significant I hear you ask? Well Spotify and many other developers are choosing a new way of delivering software to Linux users and Snaps are at the forefront.
One of the important aspects of Snaps is not so much about the technology, but more about where the software comes from. Traditionally Linux software is packaged by a community of developers and brought together by a distribution such as Ubuntu to be consumed by everyone. There are archives of software to choose from but typically this software needs to be maintained and updated separate from the upstream development version, causing it to become a little ‘stale’. With technology like Snaps, the upstream software developers can release their software directly to the end user as and when they want; the developer is in complete control. Using the track mechanism built into Snaps the developer can test edge, beta, and candidate software separate from their stable release to ensure users get the version of software they want. And with vendors like Spotify this means that millions of users get access to the latest Spotify experience as soon as it is ready.
Many other software vendors are choosing to deploy their software this way, not only because it puts them directly in control, but because technology like Snaps means software is more secure, robust, and relevant. I expect that 2018 will see a massive uptake in this way of delivering software to Linux users and long may it continue.