alt Hacker News> you wouldn't mix and match binaries from different distributions of Linux.
You can absolutely mix and match lots of different binaries from different sources on one Linux system. That's exactly what we're doing now with TCL modules.
> and make many different container images from it
Well yes, that's the problem. You end up either putting everything in one container (in which case why bother with a container?), or with a combinatorial explosion of every piece and version of software you might use.
TCL modules are better. They don't let you cheat like containers do, but in return you get a better system.
> You can absolutely mix and match lots of different binaries from different sources on one Linux system. That's exactly what we're doing now with TCL modules.
Doing this across different Linux distributions is inherently prone to failure. I don't know about your TCL modules specifically, but unless you have an identical and completely reproducible software toolchain across multiple linux distributions, it's going to end with problems.
Honestly, it sounds like you just don't understand these systems and how they work. TCL modules aren't better than containers, this is like comparing apples and organgutans.