Software complexity is on the rise, but thanks to package managers, using software is easier than it’s ever been. In 2021, nearly every operating system, language ecosystem and framework contains a package manager or several. Package managers take over where your compiler left off, integrating different versions of packages and ensuring they can be installed safely, reliably and in a compatible configuration on your system. Think of it this way: compilers integrate large applications, package managers integrate software ecosystems.
Working on a package manager requires a broad range of expertise from language runtimes, to open source deployment policy, distribution management, dependency solving and developer workflows. Package managers bridge the gap between developers and last-mile software deployment.
On November 9 and 10, six VMware engineers contributed their expertise on a range of topics at the first annual PackagingCon, a two-day virtual conference that brought different software ecosystems together—namely, developers of package management software, software packagers and its communities.
Click on each of the session links below to listen and learn more about the given topic:
- Defending against attacks on package managers, Joshua Lock, VMware Software Engineer and Marina Moore, PhD candidate at NYU Tandon School of Engineering
- Package manager convergence: what stands in the way? Joshua Lock, VMware Software Engineer
- Containers: What’s package management got to do with it? Nisha Kumar, VMware Senior Open Source Engineer
- Bitnami: 15 years bringing open source to the masses, Martin Perez and Beltrán Rueda, VMware Senior Engineering Leaders
- Unravelling the magic behind Buildpacks, Natalie Arellano, VMware Senior Software Engineer and Sambhav Kothari, Bloomberg LP, ML Platform Engineer
We also invite you to check out the several blogs Nisha and Joshua have authored on their areas of expertise.
Stay tuned to the Open Source Blog and follow us on Twitter for more deep dives into the world of open source contributing.
