Avoid downloading the same driver twice on every update

[Bleuzen]

Hi, currently everytime there is a nvidia update, it does this:

 1. [✓] org.freedesktop.Platform.GL.nvidia-525-85-05                1.4                 u              flathub                 415,1 MB / 415,9 MB
 2. [✓] org.freedesktop.Platform.GL32.nvidia-525-85-05              1.4                 u              flathub                 415,1 MB / 415,9 MB

It downloads this 415,1 MB file from nvidia, for 64 and 32 bit.
However afaik these are the same file, quote from update-data.sh:

# Nvidia dropped 32bit support after 390 series but 64bit contains
# 32bit compat libs

This is very frustrating especially on slow connections since it takes ages... twice.

An idea would be to probably combine these two packages into one.
So that we only have org.freedesktop.Platform.GL.nvidia... but not the GL32 one anymore.
This would solve two problems at once:
1.) the double download of the driver file
2.) the fact that flatpak remove --unused currently does not remove the GL32 drivers extension, see:
flatpak/flatpak#2718

If not possible, is there at least some way to download the driver only once and reuse the file?

[TingPing]

They do contain different files entirely, so many users will simply not need GL32 at all.

I think the only good solution is getting permission from Nvidia to host their files and bypass downloading the installer directly.

[Bleuzen]

@TingPing

I think the only good solution is getting permission from Nvidia to host their files and bypass downloading the installer directly.

I think we already have permission. Multiple well known linux distributions package the nvidia driver in their repos for years and they are fine. Seems because of this, a quote from their "License For Customer Use of NVIDIA Software":

2.1.2 Linux/FreeBSD Exception. Notwithstanding the foregoing terms of Section 2.1.1, SOFTWARE designed exclusively for use on the Linux or FreeBSD operating systems, or other operating systems derived from the source code to these operating systems, may be copied and redistributed, provided that the binary files thereof are not modified in any way (except for unzipping of compressed files).

[TingPing]

#167

[Bleuzen]

Great, thank you for moving this forward :)