Weblog entry #4 for emeitner
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#4
Removing package dependencies
Posted by emeitner on Wed 1 Mar 2006 at 03:35
This is a question relating to packaging and un/installation scripts.
Assume that a user wants to install an application, lets call it 'GFoo', and s/he runs a point and click installer and it says one needs to also install the dependency 'tBar' - the hard to use command-line application that GFoo is a GUI for. The user just says 'Ok' and has the application installed.
Now when the user no longer wants 'GFoo' and removes it, s/he will most likely end up with tBar just laying around taking up disk space.
So with the perspective of packaging applications for the ordinary desktop user - where we don't want to bother them with concepts of dependencies and orhpans - can the packager also prompt the user if s/he wants to remove 'tBar' when uninstalling GFoo? Is there a Debian Policy legal way of doing this?
Assume that a user wants to install an application, lets call it 'GFoo', and s/he runs a point and click installer and it says one needs to also install the dependency 'tBar' - the hard to use command-line application that GFoo is a GUI for. The user just says 'Ok' and has the application installed.
Now when the user no longer wants 'GFoo' and removes it, s/he will most likely end up with tBar just laying around taking up disk space.
So with the perspective of packaging applications for the ordinary desktop user - where we don't want to bother them with concepts of dependencies and orhpans - can the packager also prompt the user if s/he wants to remove 'tBar' when uninstalling GFoo? Is there a Debian Policy legal way of doing this?
Comments on this Entry
It is possible something else that depended on that dependency has been installed since, possibly something outside the packaging system.
Thus tools can only ever figure out from dependencies what is at the top of the dependencies list. It isn't even possible from this to know if the thing at the top is in use (well not without a lot more self awareness in the OS, MS Windows curiously tries to make a stab at whether an application is being used, not always a good indication of whether it is wanted - think "disaster recovery tools"), deborphan can guess, debfoster can be told, but would you always want to remove "aptitude", just because you removed "synaptic" (which caused it to be installed)?
Obviously not, so you also want some indication of desirability.
Basically you need to look at deborphan, debfoster, and aptitude, and once you understand why they do what they do, you'll probably understand why a lot of people here just use "apt" and "deborphan" when/if they run low on disk space.
If you decide you like the approach of them, you can use rdepends to figure out if there is a GUI ;)
Thus tools can only ever figure out from dependencies what is at the top of the dependencies list. It isn't even possible from this to know if the thing at the top is in use (well not without a lot more self awareness in the OS, MS Windows curiously tries to make a stab at whether an application is being used, not always a good indication of whether it is wanted - think "disaster recovery tools"), deborphan can guess, debfoster can be told, but would you always want to remove "aptitude", just because you removed "synaptic" (which caused it to be installed)?
Obviously not, so you also want some indication of desirability.
Basically you need to look at deborphan, debfoster, and aptitude, and once you understand why they do what they do, you'll probably understand why a lot of people here just use "apt" and "deborphan" when/if they run low on disk space.
If you decide you like the approach of them, you can use rdepends to figure out if there is a GUI ;)
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