No, package formats aren't just different sets of instructions, because on each distribution certain files might land on different places.
Plus someone has to keep track of those instructions for every single distribution.
Finally, supporting the same format isn't enough, for example a RPM for SuSE isn't the same as a RPM for Red-Hat.
Well, apparently you forgot there are people still using ALSA and OSS.
When doing desktop applications anyone that cares about UI/UX of the respective users wants to integrate with the menu system, notification on the toolbar, context menus, drag-and-drop of the window manager, printing,....
So it isn't just components.
Of course, if the goal is to have a plain twm experience, then forget about what I am saying.
The percentage of desktop users not using pulse is is a rounding error. Firefox doesn't even work without pulse anymore Notifications and menu systems are standardized. Printing doesn't require special work to work on different distros. Drag and drop just isn't part of what a window manager does period its more what your file manager does.
Your valid issues are pretty much limited to the fact that software must be packaged for several distros in order to be suitable for distribution on even most systems and file manager integration is still something that requires you to integrate with gnome AND kde to support most users.
Plus someone has to keep track of those instructions for every single distribution.
Finally, supporting the same format isn't enough, for example a RPM for SuSE isn't the same as a RPM for Red-Hat.
Well, apparently you forgot there are people still using ALSA and OSS.
When doing desktop applications anyone that cares about UI/UX of the respective users wants to integrate with the menu system, notification on the toolbar, context menus, drag-and-drop of the window manager, printing,....
So it isn't just components.
Of course, if the goal is to have a plain twm experience, then forget about what I am saying.