In <[🔎] 4CE83C26.7000505@allums.com>, Mark Allums wrote: >On 11/20/2010 3:12 PM, Javier Barroso wrote: >> On Sat, Nov 20, 2010 at 10:03 PM, Mark Allums<mark@allums.com> wrote: >>> I'm unsure whether I have ever fully grasped the whole apt system, in all >>> it's glory, but why would a recommends ever be automatically pulled in? >> >> You can control what is going to be installed in your debian, if you >> don't want recommendations to be installed automatically, simply turn >> off this option in apt configuration. > >Why was it ever the default to do so in the first place? Recommends are stronger than Suggests, but less strong than Depends. Hence, they are installed automatically, but can be removed (or not installed) with few (if any) ill effects. The first task of a package manager is to ensure a consistent system state by enforcing Depends. However, it is also supposed to make it easy to install new software; most users and developers want Recommends installed, since without them some advertised features of the software may not function. For those that do not want Recommends pulled in automatically, it is trivial to turn off. I end up installing most Recommends, but I do configure my systems so they are not installed automatically. I think originally it was to avoid pulling in Recommends from non-free, based on a misunderstanding of policy. However, I've continued to run like this, because I prefer the (aptitude install $package) only pulling in what is absolutely necessary and I understand the tools well enough to "audit" the broken Recommends dependencies if I find a feature is missing. -- Boyd Stephen Smith Jr. ,= ,-_-. =. bss@iguanasuicide.net ((_/)o o(\_)) ICQ: 514984 YM/AIM: DaTwinkDaddy `-'(. .)`-' http://iguanasuicide.net/ \_/
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