Linux Native vs Proton - IT DOESN'T MATTER!
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Since the Steam Deck was announced, there have been a few heated debates on the value of a native Linux applications compared to a windows version running through proton. Most people see this through the lens of gaming, but Proton could be used to run regular desktop apps, so let's see if, and why, we should care about how an app runs on Linux.
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00:00 Intro
01:35 What is native / Proton?
03:09 Will proton kill native Linux ports?
06:14 Is it really an issue?
06:27 For games
08:47 For desktop apps
10:06 Vendor lock-in problem
12:23 Parting thoughts
A native Linux app is an application, or game, that has been written and compiled to run specifically on Linux, using its available libraries and APIs. There are thousands of native applications and games available already.
Now, what's Proton? Proton is a distribution of Wine, the windows compatibility layer, plus a lot of other libraries that allow windows programs to access Linux native APIs and systems, notably for 3D graphics and audio.
Will proton kill native Linux apps?
Proton is so good, that some developers that worked on porting software to Linux, are starting to believe that their work isn't needed anymore. Feral, said they wouldn't port Total War Troy to Linux in the end, because Proton makes that redundant.
https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2021/07/feral-no-longer-porting-a-total-war-saga-troy-to-linux-citing-less-demand-since-proton/page=11
Frozenbyte, recently incited people to use Proton instead of the native Linux versions of their own games.
https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2021/07/frozenbyte-are-now-telling-linux-users-to-use-proton-even-for-their-older-games/page=1
This is seen as a problem by a lot of people: if developers think Proton is the silver bullet, then surely Linux will never get any native Linux applications anymore, right?
That might be true. As a developer, investing time and resources to port a game, or an application to Linux is a tough choice.
Advantages of Native apps
Proton might make developers less likely to develop a native port, but is that really a problem?
Games
For games, I think it's not an issue. Sure, Proton can have a performance impact in some games. It's less and less true, but you can still get a 5 to 10% performance reduction compared to playing the game on windows. Do you get a performance reduction compared to a native Linux game though? In most cases, no.
I'd even go as far as saying that a proton version is, in some cases, better than a native Linux port.
Total War Warhammer 2 has a native Linux version, but it gets updates 3 weeks to a month after the windows release, it gets DLC a lot later as well, and it can't cross play with Windows players, which considerably limits the appeal of its multiplayer modes.
Apps
Now, for desktop applications, Proton isn't something we've seen much of, or at all, but it could still be a great solution. It could enable 3D accelerated apps, like Photoshop, Premiere, or Autocad, to run at full speed, with minimal effort from the developers.
There are more issues with that though: interface-wise, these apps would still be windows apps, so they wouldn't follow any convention from your desktop environment: no automatic dark mode support, no integration with the system indicators, jump lists in the dock, and stuff like that.
These apps also wouldn't look like native linux apps at all. For games, who cares? They all have their own interface, but for apps? It's pretty jarring to move from a native GNOME application to an app using the windows file picker, for example. This might be alleviated in the future, as the latest releases of wine support theming, but it's still not going to be a perfect integration.
But in the case of these apps, that only exist on Windows, does that matter? I'd prefer having an app that doesn't look native or well integrated, than not having it available at all, because the developer doesn't want to, or can't commit resources to a native port.