Discover and Pkcon: A useful alternative to GNOME Software and Apt
Today, we will start a first exploration of 2 useful software tools calls "Discover and Pkcon". For those who do not know them, it is worth briefly noting that the first is the Plasma Desktop Environment (KDE) Software Center (Store). Whereas, the second is a handy little CLI Package Manager. Just as or more efficient than others, such as the well-known: Apt-get, Aptitude and Apt.
Both applications are often used together, when it comes to using GNU / Linux distributions that come by default with KDE Plasma. Such as: Kubuntu, KDE Neon, Ubuntu or Debian with Plasma, or other similar. However, both can be installed without much difficulty or limitations on compatible desktop environments. Such as: GNOME, LXQT, LXDE or XFCE, with a few simple commands.
And, before continuing with this exploration training of about apps "Discover and Pkcon", we recommend exploring some previous related content, at the end:
Discover + Pkcon First Scan
What is Discover?
According to Discover official section in the official application website of the KDE Project, this software tool is described as follows:
"Discover is a useful software hub that helps you find and install apps, games, and tools."
Furthermore, it is important to note that, as GNOMEsoftware, Discover allow manage software from multiple sources (Native software repositories, and Flatpak, Snap, and AppImages apps).
For installation on KDE Plasma or others Desktop Environments (DE) o Window Managers (WM), it is enough to execute the following command orders:
sudo apt install plasma-discover plasma-discover-backend-flatpak plasma-discover-backend-snap
Yes, everything went well, including dependency resolution, Discover should look like this when run, as in my case, on Miracles (MX Linux with XFCE):
What is pkcon?
According to pkcon official section in the Official Ubuntu Manpages website, this software tool is described as follows:
"Pkcon is the command line client for the PackageKit software (package)."
In addition, it is relevant to point out that, like other package managers similar as Apt-get, Aptitude and Apt, pkcon It allows, through parameters and wildcards, the installation of packages or the display of information about the operating system.
For its installation, it is enough to execute the following commands:
sudo apt install packagekit-tools
Yes, everything went fine during your installation, pkcon It should look like this when executed:
Soon, in new publications about Discover and Pkcon We will go into more detail about each one, but for more information on pkcon, the following links can be explored: Packagekit-tools in Ubuntu y Debian.
Summary
In short, we are sure that this first scan de “Discover + Pkcon” will be very pleasant for those users of the Plasma Desktop Environment about Ubuntu, Kubuntu, KDE Neon, Debian with Plasma, and the like. And also, very interesting and useful, for those users of other «DEs” and “WMs” who are always looking for alternatives to their usual apps.
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