This is an issue that I'm also struggling with and posted about previously.
hadisch wrote:
It becomes more and more difficult to fulfill the dependencies of PureBasic on Linux. This is a real test of patience under Arch/Manjaro.
Yes - Arch/Manjaro is a problem and also Fedora I believe, though I haven't had time to test yet.
For myself the real issue is only with WebGadget. I use this just for my Help system which is important and quite large.
On Manjaro I have attempted many times to build the packages from AUR, but all have failed for various reasons - some simple and fixable, others very obscure! On my low powered machine the build takes very many hours before failing. I have followed all the tips and tricks from this and several other forums.
However, the main point regardless of my own result, is that I cannot expect my customers to go through this lengthy procedure. It's especially unfortunate as Manjaro appears to be getting very popular (currently ranked number 1 by DistroWatch, though doesn't reflect actual installations).
On Debian/Ubuntu type distros installing the binary dependences from the standard repositories is quick and no trouble. I have absolutely no problem with that, it's perfectly acceptable for anyone. Using something like AppImages my be worth considering but I tend to agree with DarkDragon that it could cause problems.
The PB team has already done a brilliant job with improvements for the Linux platform. I guess that the best solution would be for them to ensure that important dependencies were current and readily available from the repositories for all the most popular distributions. Then documenting examples for the main Package Management types, like the existing apt-get command line. However, I'm sure this is a lot easier said than done! It's further complicated by the need to support both gtk2 and gtk3 subsystems (I am still needing to use gtk2). Personally, I'm prepared to wait until Fred and Freak can find the time to look at this properly.