In an exciting development for the Linux community, Arch Linux has announced a new partnership with Valve, the company behind the Steam gaming platform and Steam Deck. This collaboration will see Valve financially support two major projects for Arch Linux: an improved build service infrastructure and a secure signing enclave.
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Why Valve is backing Arch Linux
Antiz, an Arch Linux developer, explains in a YouTube video that Valve, the company behind Steam, is supporting Arch Linux by sponsoring two projects: a central build service and a secure signing enclave. These projects aim to streamline and secure the process of building and managing software packages in Arch Linux.
Currently, building and signing packages in Arch Linux requires manual interventions from package maintainers, making it difficult to support multiple architectures due to the increased workload.
The new central build service and secure signing enclave would automate these tasks, eliminating the need for manual intervention and improving security. This would enable Arch Linux to support multiple architectures, such as x86-64, arm64, and risc-v, in a more manageable way.
This goal of supporting multiple architectures is shared by both Arch Linux and Valve. While Antiz cannot confirm Valve's specific plans for multiple architecture support, they acknowledge that it opens possibilities for various devices like ARM-based consoles, VR headsets, or even a future Steam Deck iteration.
What this means for Arch Linux
Faster Development:
By providing freelance backing, Valve's support allows Arch Linux to work on these critical projects without being hindered by limitations in volunteer time. This will significantly accelerate progress and enable the Arch Linux team to tackle ambitious endeavours that would have otherwise taken much longer.
Improved Build Service:
The collaboration will lead to the development of a robust build service infrastructure. This infrastructure will involve servers for building software, potentially similar to continuous integration systems.
The system will likely manage compiling and distributing software, simplifying the process and reducing the need for custom setups for different devices.
Enhanced Security:
The introduction of a secure signing enclave marks a significant advancement in security for Arch Linux. This enclave will leverage code signing to provide a higher level of assurance that packages downloaded from the official repositories haven't been tampered with.
Users will be able to cryptographically verify the origin and integrity of software packages, making it much harder for malicious actors to distribute compromised software.
Valve's Commitment to Linux Gaming
This partnership between Arch Linux and Valve is huge news! Finally, a major company is putting its money where its mouth is and directly supporting Linux development.
It feels like a real turning point, especially after the success of the Steam Deck, which runs on a modified Arch Linux base known as SteamOS. I am pretty sure this will bring a native Linux gaming experience to a wider audience.
Some members of the Linux community speculate that this collaboration could pave the way for a public release of SteamOS 3.0 with official support. Plus, this could convince more developers to enable anti-cheat for their games on Linux, which is something we've been wanting for a long time.
Valve supporting a build service infrastructure and secure signing enclave is really going to help Arch, and the Linux desktop overall. A more robust build system means faster development and more reliable packages.
And the secure signing enclave is going to be a game-changer for security, helping to ensure that the packages we download are the real deal.
Transparency and Community Involvement
The partnership emphasizes that all development will adhere to Arch Linux's established procedures, with open discussions and community input remaining central to the process.
- RFC Process: Any significant modifications will be subject to Arch Linux's Request for Comments (RFC) process, ensuring transparency and allowing the community to provide feedback.
- Open Development: Discussions on the Arch Linux mailing lists, along with issue tracking and planning on their GitLab, will provide insights into the ongoing work and progress made.
A Positive Step for Open Source
The collaboration between Arch Linux and Valve is indeed a positive step for the Linux and open-source communities. There's a lot of excitement and optimism about this partnership.
Valve has a good track record with Linux, especially recently with Proton and their contributions to KDE and graphics drivers. This collaboration just shows how committed they are to making Linux a viable gaming platform.
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