On 2025-11-06 at 06:50, Sebastian Kraus wrote:
> Dear all:
>
> selecting
>
> [*] Debian desktop environment
>
> is definitely NOT(!) "superfluous".
>
> Having a look at the control files of the two "task packages" e.g.
>
> task-desktop
> task-gnome-desktop
>
> reveals the following:
>
> Package: task-desktop
> Source: tasksel
> Version: 3.81
> Architecture: all
> Maintainer: Debian Install System Team <debian-boot@lists.debian.org>
> Installed-Size: 6
> Depends: tasksel (= 3.81), xorg, xserver-xorg-video-all, xserver-xorg-input-all, desktop-base
> Recommends: task-gnome-desktop | task-xfce-desktop | task-kde-desktop | task-lxde-desktop | task-gnome-flashback-desktop | task-cinnamon-desktop | task-mate-desktop | task-lxqt-desktop, xdg-utils, fonts-symbola, avahi-daemon, libnss-mdns, anacron, eject, iw, alsa-utils, sudo, firefox | firefox-esr, cups
> Section: tasks
> Priority: optional
> Description: Debian desktop environment
> This task package is used to install the Debian desktop.
>
>
> Package: task-gnome-desktop
> Source: tasksel
> Version: 3.81
> Architecture: all
> Maintainer: Debian Install System Team <debian-boot@lists.debian.org>
> Installed-Size: 9
> Depends: tasksel (= 3.81), task-desktop, gnome-core
^^^^^^^^^^^^
> Recommends: gnome
> Section: tasks
> Priority: optional
> Description: GNOME
> This task package is used to install the Debian desktop, featuring
> the GNOME desktop environment, and with other packages that Debian users
> expect to have available on the desktop.
>
>
> You definitely have to install the "task-desktop" package by
> selecting "Debian desktop environment". Otherwise, necessary
> dependencies for the GNOME Desktop environment will miss from your
> installation. For all other
> "task-<name_of_desktop_environment>-desktop" "task packages", the
> same condition holds true and installation of the specific Desktop
> environment with fail with fatal errors.
Normally, one would expect the fact that task-gnome-desktop has Depends:
on task-desktop to mean that installing the one would automatically
result in installing the other.
I suspect that in an already-installed system,
$ apt install task-gnome-desktop
will in fact have that result; a '--dry-run' attempt on my own system
does seem to suggest that that will be the case.
I have a half-recollection, however, that the Debian Installer does not
use the normal dependency-resolution mechanisms (at least not in the
same way) - and if that is in fact the case, it may indeed be plausible
that, *specifically during the installation process*, this same result
would not automatically occur.
--
The Wanderer
The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one
persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all
progress depends on the unreasonable man. -- George Bernard Shaw
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