I installed Ubuntu server 20.04 into a vm, to see how if I want upgrade my 18.04. I use cockpit for ease of use on my 18.04. Anyways the cockpit-docker deb is missing from the repository. Why is this? Was this an over site or is their some other reason for it not being part of 20.04?
From Community Help > Repositories, Software in Ubuntu’s repository is divided into four categories or components: main, restricted, universe and multiverse.
- Main: The main component contains applications that are free software, can be freely redistributed and are fully supported by the Ubuntu team.
- Universe: The universe component is a snapshot of the free, open-source, and Linux world. It houses almost every piece of open-source software, all built from a range of public sources.
- Restricted: Proprietary drivers that make it possible to install Ubuntu and its free applications on everyday hardware
- Multiverse: The multiverse component contains software that is not free, which means the licensing requirements of this software do not meet the Ubuntu main component licence policy.
We can understand why restricted components are provided. As the page says,
Our commitment is to only promote free software – or software available under a free licence. However, we make exceptions for a small set of tools and drivers that make it possible to install Ubuntu and its free applications on everyday hardware. These proprietary drivers are kept in the restricted component. Please note that it may not be possible to provide complete support for this software because we are unable to fix the software ourselves - we can only forward problem reports to the actual authors. Some software from restricted will be installed on Ubuntu CDs but is clearly separated to ensure that it is easy to remove. We will only use non-open-source software when there is no other way to install Ubuntu. The Ubuntu team works with vendors to accelerate the open-sourcing of their software to ensure that as much software as possible is available under a free licence.
However, why is the multiverse category included? What is the purpose of it?
There is wide range of non-free/proprietary applications & software included in the multiverse category. I don’t understand why this is considered a good thing.
I've been peeking into the ubuntu respository and I see four folders, multiverse, universe, restricted and main. What do they represent?
The Ubuntu wiki describes the "sections" of the official Ubuntu repositories as follows:
Main - Officially supported software.
Restricted - Supported software that is not available under a completely free license.
Universe - Community maintained software, i.e. not officially supported software.
Multiverse - Software that is not free.
I thought that software in the Ubuntu repositories had to be open source, however doesn't the description of the Multiverse directly contradicts this?
I thought that all applications in Ubuntu repositories are free, but today I wanted to install rar package and its description says, that this is shareware and I could use it (without registration) only 40 days.
Are there more packages like rar? How can I find the licence of programs in repositories?