The article traces the evolution of Linux package managers, beginning with manual installation methods in Unix systems, leading to the introduction of the first package manager with SVR4 in 1989. The emergence of specific Linux distros in the early 1990s inspired further development of package management tools like RPM and dpkg. By the late 1990s, solutions like apt and yum featured automatic dependency resolution. This transition transformed system management, showcasing how package managers simplified updates and installation for users.
Long before Linux was introduced, I worked as a Unix system administrator. In those days, I downloaded the source code, unpacked the tarball archive it arrived in, compiled it, and installed it whenever I needed to update my system or install a new package. It was a real pain in the rump.
Inspired by SVR4's package managers, the first distros aiming to make Linux a rival to Unix for business servers picked up on the idea. By 1993-1994, the first Linux-specific package managers were emerging.
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