the latest SDK, configures everything.
See https://wiki.ubuntu.com/ubuntu-make to learn more about the packages
available and get started.
Creating Snap Packages
One of the exciting opportunities for developers is the snap package format.
Along with the basic installation and other details given in Chapter 9,
“Managing Software,” snap packaging also allows single packaged
application to be used across multiple Linux distributions. Although snap
packages are not expected to replace traditional packaging formats like .deb,
which we cover in Chapter 42, “Helping with Ubuntu Development,” it is
reasonable to expect snaps to find wide use for applications provided by third-
party vendors—for example, Mozilla is already committed to using snap
packages for its Firefox web browser—and for applications intended for use
on devices such as phones, routers, switches, and the new category of IoT
(Internet of Things) devices. For desktop applications, snap packaging
enables a developer to submit free or even for-payment apps for review and
inclusion in the Ubuntu Software application (see Chapter 9, “Managing
Software”).
The tool used to create snap packages is Snapcraft, available from
[http://snapcraft.io. Snapcraft is designed to bundle your already-created](http://snapcraft.io. Snapcraft is designed to bundle your already-created)
application with any and all dependencies for easy installation and updating.
Another helpful community project related to snap packaging is Snappy
Playpen, at https://github.com/ubuntu/snappy-playpen, which exists to share
knowledge and best practices about snap packaging while helping test the
packages that community members and others create.
Bikeshed and Other Tools
Bikeshed was started by Dustin Kirkland in September 2010 as a project to
package a series of tools he wrote to scratch some personal itches that he had
as an Ubuntu developer working on Canonical’s Ubuntu server team or that
he thought would be useful to others. All good developers, system
administrators, and DevOps gurus eventually write scripts to perform specific
tasks they find useful. The Bikeshed project began when Dustin gathered his
scripts together and made them accessible to the world. The wider Ubuntu
community is invited to give suggestions or submit patches to make them
better.