Re: purging: what should be deleted ? (fwd)

[John Hasler <john@dhh.gt.org>]

I wrote:
> Can dpkg tell the difference between the package that creates a directory
> and one that merely puts a file in it?

William Ono writes:
> Consider Packages A and B that install things in /usr/foo.  If A is
> installed first, then A creates /usr/foo and puts files in it.  Then,
> later, B puts files there, too.  But if B is installed first, then B
> creates /usr/foo; A installed later just puts files in there.

I was thinking of the case where B depends on A.  However, you have a
point: nothing I know of prevents two independent packages from sharing a
directory that they do not share with any package either depends on.
Since A may have created the directory so that something A installs can use
it later, it may never be safe to remove an empty directory.
-- 
John Hasler
john@dhh.gt.org (John Hasler)
Dancing Horse Hill
Elmwood, WI