On making mistakes (Re: Why most run Microsoft, not RedHat)

[Robin Laing]

Cameron Simpson wrote:
> On 18Apr2007 12:44, Mikkel L. Ellertson <mikkel at infinity-ltd.com> wrote:
> | Antti J. Huhtala wrote:


> 
> However, I thunk yum (or rpm, underneath) could do with a notion of
> sticky/"don't remove this package", which would cause an Error with "yum
> remove" instead of an "are you sure", and require a "--remove-sticky"
> to actually do. The idea being that:
> 
>   normally you'd never try to remove such packages,
>     and never trip over it
> 
>   you could tune it via some control file
> 
> It would include things like bash, the kernel, the X-server, xfs, xterm and
> basic fonts if installed, glibc and various other extremely core things. (Why
> xterm? Because it's the stanard emulator that is always there - I'm seeking
> that stickiness leaves you a usable system, not a "pretty" system.)
> 
> On the same topic, the flip side of removing too much is installing too
> much. Building a "stripped down" server off Fedora or RHEL is a PITA
> because various systems are prerequisites lots of "high level" tools.
> 
> For example, a rack mount server often has NO use for cups, and I
> usually want to toss it. But if I do that various system-* tools go too,
> and many GUI things, because they all _require_ cups.
> 
> There are numerous similar examples, some far more egrarious. I had a
> classic the other day, but is escapes me just now.
> 
> What is needed is a "recommended" dependency, and a switch to control
> whether it means install, ignore or warn. And probably default to warn.
> So I'd go:
> 
>   yum remove cups
> 
> and it would do it, but not prune various control-panel type tools that
> offer printer control, for example, but emit a warning.
> 
> Cheers,

I feel that there is a tool for this and that is rpm.  You can use rpm 
to make a list of what packages are needed and then you can either 
remove them individually using the various flags as wanted/needed.

Again, removing X may be used if someone decides to move a computer from 
a desktop role to a server role.

In all cases, read what you are doing before you do it.  I have made the 
mistake in the past of not reading the dependencies and just typing in 
the "Y" and getting into trouble.  Now I prefer to use a GUI for yum as 
it makes it easier to look through some bigger lists and be more 
selective.  But there are times when I use the CLI.


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Robin Laing