Re: Obsessed with a clean system

[Jim McCloskey <mcclosk@ucsc.edu>]

Tong Sun <mlist4suntong@yahoo.com> wrote:

|> Anybody here is as obsessed as I am for a clean
|> system? 
|>
|> Looking at the packages I installed, I know there
|> would be lots of them that I will never use. E.g.,

Two of the most useful Debian tools in this regard are `deborphan' and
`debfoster' (both independent packages).

Deborphan scans your system for libraries that are not used by any
installed package. Use `dpkg --purge' to remove those libraries, and
then re-run (the removal of one library will often result in another
being orphaned).

Deborphan only removes libraries; the purpose of `debfoster' is to:

	   `weed unnecessary Debian packages'

(from the man page). It's a more powerful tool than can be described
here, but basically, it tells you what package is keeping what other
packages installed and provides you with a good basis for the wise use
of `dpkg --purge' or `apt-get remove'.

One of the reasons that I really like Debian is that it lets me easily
indulge my obsession for having a clean system.

Jim