Should Syncloud migrate to snappy?

[Michael Hall]

Hi Boris,

Syncloud is an exciting project, and it sounds like there's a lot of
benefit you can derive from snaps. I'll try and give you some high-level
answers to your questions here to point you in the right direction,
others can give you more detail from there.

> 1. Can we continue to regular board kernels as is or we need to have
> custom builds for snap mode?

Snaps can provide more than just apps, we use snaps to deliver kernels
and device enablement too. While you could add snap support on top of
your existing work, you will probably benefit more from moving that work
into snaps too.

See https://developer.ubuntu.com/en/snappy/guides/gadget/ for more

> 2. Can we use our own snap store location (lets say we have converted
> our archives to snaps)?

You could, yes. The API used by snapd is open, and we even provided a
very simple example store to demonstrate it. But here again we can do
even better and let you curate your own curated store built on top of
our own. This will give you access to all of the apps in our public
store, but with the ability to pick which ones to display in your own.
Lime SDR wrote up a nice post about their use of this feature:
https://developer.ubuntu.com/en/snappy/guides/gadget/

> 3. Can we use systemd?

Yes, in fact service snaps already use it. If a snap declares a daemon,
it will automatically generate the appropriate systemd service file to
manage it.

> 4. As it sounds a lot of work and we do not really have resources,
> should we start just by taking snapd and add support for syncloud
> packages (store format, install location, app format, hooks)?

It sounds like Snaps can do a lot of what you want, letting you focus
your resources on the features of your product rather than the plumbing.
Adopting Snap apps means you benefit from all the work we're already
doing to encourage ISVs to provide software in that format, and if you
use our store you get a ready list of software to choose for yours.

I hope this is enough to get you started. Keep asking questions here and
others will chime in with more detailed answers for you.

Michael Hall
mhall119 at ubuntu.com

On 11/03/2016 06:25 PM, Boris Rybalkin wrote:
> Hello,
> 
> I am developing Syncloud (syncloud.org <http://syncloud.org>) and our
> goal is to have an app store of popular services (file storage, social
> network, mail, messaging ...). We prepare images for a set of popular
> single board computers.
> Images a simply minimal debian + board specific kernels (taken from
> images provided by vendors).
> 
> Currently we package self contained server apps (using systemd) as
> simple archives and have a tool to install/upgrade/remove them.
> 
> Another key component is app store UI which runs on a device and
> simplifies app installation with the intention that a non technical
> person can use it the same way he or she uses iPhone App Store.
> 
> My question is: do you think it is worth considering ubuntu core and its
> snap mechanism as a platform for our solution?
> 
> More specific questions:
> 
> 1. Can we continue to regular board kernels as is or we need to have
> custom builds for snap mode?
> 2. Can we use our own snap store location (lets say we have converted
> our archives to snaps)?
> 3. Can we use systemd?
> 4. As it sounds a lot of work and we do not really have resources,
> should we start just by taking snapd and add support for syncloud
> packages (store format, install location, app format, hooks)?
> 
> Thank you,
> Boris Rybalkin
> 
>