Re: Empty package to facilitate upgrades, can be safely removed. Really?
Dan Jacobson <jidanni@jidanni.org> writes:
> # apt-cache show fileutils
> Description: The GNU file management utilities (transitional package)
> Empty package to facilitate upgrades, can be safely removed.
>
> # apt-get remove fileutils
> The following packages will be REMOVED:
> alsa-modules-2.4.18-k7 fileutils kernel-doc-2.4.18 kernel-doc-2.4.19 kernel-headers-2.4.18
> kernel-headers-2.4.18-k7 kernel-headers-2.4.19-k7 kernel-image-2.4.18-k7
> kernel-image-2.4.19-k7 kernel-pcmcia-modules-2.4.18-k7 kernel-source-2.4.18
> After unpacking 183MB disk space will be freed.
> Do you want to continue? [Y/n]
>
> I don't know. Do I? It said "safely be removed". Is this safe?
I think you have pretty much all of the information there to make your
own decision. The "transition" packages generally exist to accomodate
things that might have versioned dependencies upon them; if something
depends on fileutils (>= 3.3.2), something else that provides
fileutils will never satisfy the dependency.
If it were me, I'd just mark the transition package as auto-installed
in aptitude ('M') and let aptitude remove it when nothing else depends
on it.
--
David Maze dmaze@debian.org http://people.debian.org/~dmaze/
"Theoretical politics is interesting. Politicking should be illegal."
-- Abra Mitchell
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