Bug#43773: dpkg: purge and remove options make a pause, then parse arguments

[Ben Collins <bcollins@debian.org>]

On Mon, Aug 30, 1999 at 11:36:27PM +0200, Josip Rodin wrote:
> Package: dpkg
> Version: 1.4.0.34
> Severity: wishlist
> 
> Hi,
> 
> As the subject line says, these two options (--remove and --purge) first
> make a short pause (accessing the database?), and after that their options
> are parsed. I noticed that when I accidentally typed "dpkg -r", and it took
> some time for dpkg to return the error. This is inconsistent with the
> install option (--install), which parses the options (and reports the error
> if there are not arguments) instantly. And it is annoying, to have to wait.
> 
> Also, there should be a short alias for the purge command, and both
> "-p" and "-P" are available.

I agree with the rest of this, but making a short, easy option to purge a package
is bad. If you accidentally -r a package, it can be easily fixed with a reinstall
and all configuration files will be kept. If you accidentally --purge, then you
could have some problems. Force people to know exactly what they are doing in this
extreme instance.

I would say that the short pause before -r actually starts removing files is a good
thing since it gives time to say "oh shit!" and hist ctrl-c, but it will soon be
irrelevant as cpu's and disks get much faster.

Ben