slapt-get uninstall dependencies

[NickC]

This might be obvious to most but as a linux newbie I can't quite see any obvious answer.

When I install a package which has dependencies these get installed as well. When I then uninstall that package all of the additional installed dependent packages remain installed. Is there any way I can force the dependent packages to be uninstalled at the same time as removing the original package?

Thanks,

[thenktor]

Short answer: no
Long answer: viewtopic.php?f=22&t=856

Alternative answer: we have a tool that saves your installed packages list before and after installing a package for test. You then can revert your system to the state before installing the test package. IIRC the tool was made by fredg, but I cannot remember the name.

EDIT: here is the tool viewtopic.php?f=24&t=1773

[NickC]

So bottom line is having already installed/uninstalled various packages for testing purposes I now have no way of removing all the dependent packages and restoring to the original fresh installed default, correct? At least not without wiping and reinstalling again.

Had a look at the twapake tool but can't see how that would help me. Is there a full log of installed packages anywhere, including the date & time they were originally installed, even those which have since been removed?

[thenktor]

This is correct, but doesn't matter because these packages won't do any harm except using some bytes on your HD. This is not a system from Redmond where you mess up everything with additional adware/bloatware

[NickC]

This is correct, but doesn't matter because these packages won't do any harm except using some bytes on your HD. This is not a system from Redmond where you mess up everything with additional adware/bloatware

Yep agreed, but that will build up over time and the more small files are kept the slower it will eventually become. After all the times I have read about how much better linux is compared to windows at uninstalling things properly, it is a little disapointing to find something as basic as dependency logging missing.

May be simplistic but way I see it is that all slapt-get has to do is keep a list with each package of other packages that were installed at the time as dependencies. When it comes to removing them all other installed packages need to be checked to ensure that these are still genuinely orphanded dependents and not required by anything else.

[gapan]

Code: Select all

ls -lt /var/log/packages | less
ls -lt /var/log/removed_packages | less

[thenktor]

Yep agreed, but that will build up over time and the more small files are kept the slower it will eventually become.

Well, with a HD this is a theoretical problem only and with a SSD it doesn't matter at all.

[JRD]

From the documentation of twapake:
To show the packages installed since the 2011-05-25

Code: Select all

# twapake -s -c 2011-05-25

So you can find the packages you installed since a precise date.

it is a little disapointing to find something as basic as dependency logging missing

Please read the topic pointed by thenktor on his first post. You'll see that this is, contrary to what you think, what of the most complicated thing to handle in Linux. This is well known as "the dependancy hell".