Note: Packages in the AUR assume that base-devel is installed in the build environment.
It would make sense to check is that package is present and perhaps treat it as a dependency for any AUR packages, since the dependencies listed for any of them assume that this package is present.
Be sure you have the necessary files for building applications from source
user $ pamac install base-devel git
And why would it be? Many users have no use for git or debugedit.
How do you propose to do that? The AUR is not a manjaro resource - has no control over it.
It would be rather trivial to have the switch in pamac also fire off these package additions, which I think would be the better approach.
On the other hand … the AUR should not be used carelessly … it requires the user be an active participant in the management and inspection of those packages. It is not fantasy fiction that the AUR can and has been used to distribute malicious code. The requirement existing prominently in the documentation but not being automated acts as an invisible hand to encourage the requisite engagement.
Yes, that’s more like what I was imagining. I expected it to be rather trivial.
I beg to differ. If AUR is backed as an option in manjaro, it can and should integrate something this basic.
Moreover, I doubt that the users that need to use some AUR packages are a small minority - and it’s normal, manjaro can’t provide everything that’s needed for everyone. The occasion to encourage the less knowledgeable users to read and learn are plenty in any case. It’s not much, and it’s as logic and expected, IMO, as correctly list package dependencies.
It won’t stop any user to try to install an AUR package, but it will lead to them posting and thus for the maintainers and forum helpers to waste time and energy on a issue that could be very simply avoided. There’s bound to have more meaningful occasions to ask of them to learn.
Manjaro won’t provide them, because they’re too specific. Most users will have those case specific needs, I presume, so most of them will end up using the AUR. In many cases, that’s the only available option.
But I get your heed for caution, I probably should know more about it - but even so, I think base-devel should not be used as a guardrail.
And what about Flatpak? Does it present the same risks as your argue AUR do?
Yes - it is worst case - even so - stable snap often causes a lot of incidents where custom packages break - mostly because they need rebuild - but also for other reasons usually rooted in the mentioned difference.
E.g. AUR packages depending on a node.js or the VirtualBox extension pack or custom python scripts - these are only a few of the issues AUR has caused over time.
It is correct that many packages will require little of the user while other are more demanding.
The many topics on the forum which are created because custom AUR package scripts either fails or the installed app is failing after a stable snap shows that it is necessary to uphold the stanse that AUR is unsupported and I agree on the following quote
