There are many Linux distributions out there - and almost as many different approaches to how they're built. Two distributions on nearly opposite ends of the spectrum include OpenMandriva (which uses binary packages, builds and updates each package individually, applications are part of the OS, ...) and OpenHarmony (which builds the OS from source in one go, is updated through OTA images, and treats applications as something separate, ...) A developer involved in both projects explains how the 2 projects go about building their respective OSes, why both projects made the choices they made, how the approaches differ from a developer and user perspective, and what approach works better for what particular use case.