Possibly something that many have wondered, especially when starting in Linux is not only which package management system is better but also, what packaging is better.
I do not mean to say which is better, only to find the differences between .deb and .rpm. And I certainly find it difficult, since I don't find many differences.
There are also other minority packages, and also the tarballs.
Both are a database containing the packages, name, version, dependencies, and, in .deb, recommended packages. Previously in .rpm, there was a feature: when updating software, configuration files are left intact or backed up, now also implements .deb.
My experience is that debs are faster looking for dependencies and that .rpm, in general, ask for more dependencies (at least, I don't recommend doing it offline and looking for dependencies one by one, it happened to me with openSUSE)
Both allow you to update the system, search for packages, install / uninstall, search for dependencies and more. They make life easier for us. But deep down what are their real differences?