What does `package-cleanup --orphans' really tell me?

[Kam Leo]

On Dec 17, 2007 2:02 PM, Dean S. Messing <deanm at sharplabs.com> wrote:
>
> Craig White (toward the end of the Cups Problem thread) wrote:
> : sudo rpm -e x264-0.0.0-0.3.20061023.fc6.i386
> : sudo yum -y install yum-utils
> : # and then finally...let us know the output of
> : sudo package-cleanup --orphans
> :
> : This will list problematic packages
>
> Out of curiosity, I just ran
>
> `package-cleanup --orphans'
>
> on my fairly well-maintained F7 system and got:
>
> [root at medulla0 ~]# package-cleanup --orphans
> Setting up yum
> kernel-2.6.22.9-91.fc7.x86_64
> fetchmail-init-1.1-0.noarch
> autofs-5.0.1-27.x86_64
> kernel-devel-2.6.23.1-10.fc7.x86_64
> pam-0.99.7.1-5.1.fc7.x86_64
> pam-0.99.7.1-5.1.fc7.i386
> mysql-libs-5.0.45-1.fc7.i386
> pam-devel-0.99.7.1-5.1.fc7.i386
> metamail-2.7-29.7.x.legacy.x86_64
> kernel-2.6.23.1-21.fc7.x86_64
> pam-devel-0.99.7.1-5.1.fc7.x86_64
> mysql-libs-5.0.45-1.fc7.x86_64
> VMwareWorkstation-6.0.2-59824.x86_64
> kernel-devel-2.6.23.1-21.fc7.x86_64
> kernel-2.6.23.1-10.fc7.x86_64
> kmod-nvidia-100.14.19-1.2.6.23.1_10.fc7.x86_64
> iptables-ipv6-1.3.8-2.1.fc7.x86_64
> grub-0.97-13.i386
> iptables-1.3.8-2.1.fc7.x86_64
> kernel-2.6.22.5-76.fc7.x86_64
> AdobeReader_enu-8.1.1-1.i486
>
> (Yes, I keep more than two kernels around.)
>
> Which of these is problematic?  I'd be interested to know what
> `package-cleanup --orphans' is checking for?
>
> The man page gives this description:
>
> DESCRIPTION
>        package-cleanup  is  a  program  for  cleaning  up  the  locally-
>        installed RPMs.
>
>
> Later in the man page it says something about these packages not
> coming from any yum repo.  In the list above, that is only true for a
> subset of packages (e.g. AdobeReader_enu and VMwareWorkstation).
>
> Dean

For F8 "man package-cleanup" provides this output:

[snip]

       --orphans
              List  installed  packages  which are not available from currenly
              configured repositories.

My take on "currenly configured" [sic] is enabled yum repositories. So
what --orphan will tell you is that the listed package(s) is(are) not
in a yum repository or is due to be replaced by an update. Here is the
output for my F8-x84 installation which had some updates pending:

# package-cleanup --orphans
Setting up yum
firefox-2.0.0.10-2.fc8.i386
tomboy-0.8.1-3.fc8.x86_64
system-config-firewall-tui-1.0.11-1.fc8.noarch
gtksourceview2-2.0.1-1.fc8.x86_64
at-3.1.10-18.fc8.x86_64
gnome-panel-2.20.1-2.fc8.i386
tzdata-java-2007i-1.fc8.noarch
tzdata-2007i-1.fc8.noarch
system-config-firewall-1.0.11-1.fc8.noarch
VMwareTools-5.5.5-56455.i386
gnome-panel-2.20.1-2.fc8.x86_64
squid-2.6.STABLE16-3.fc8.x86_64
samba-client-3.0.27a-0.fc8.x86_64
gail-1.20.1-2.fc8.i386
yum-3.2.7-2.fc8.noarch
kernel-2.6.23.1-49.fc8.x86_64
firefox-2.0.0.10-2.fc8.x86_64
nspluginwrapper-0.9.91.5-12.fc8.x86_64
selinux-policy-3.0.8-62.fc8.noarch
coreutils-6.9-11.fc8.x86_64
gdm-2.20.1-7.fc8.x86_64
ktorrent-2.2.3-2.fc8.x86_64
samba-common-3.0.27a-0.fc8.x86_64
selinux-policy-devel-3.0.8-62.fc8.noarch
policycoreutils-gui-2.0.31-20.fc8.x86_64
kdepim-libs-3.5.8-5.svn20071013.ent.fc8.i386
nspluginwrapper-0.9.91.5-12.fc8.i386
gnome-desktop-2.20.1-2.fc8.x86_64
glib2-2.14.3-1.fc8.i386
kdepim-libs-3.5.8-5.svn20071013.ent.fc8.x86_64
orca-2.20.1-1.fc8.x86_64
policycoreutils-2.0.31-20.fc8.x86_64
samba-3.0.27a-0.fc8.x86_64
glib2-2.14.3-1.fc8.x86_64
evince-2.20.1-2.fc8.x86_64
selinux-policy-targeted-3.0.8-62.fc8.noarch
mutt-1.5.17-1.fc8.x86_64
libsmbclient-3.0.27a-0.fc8.i386
kdepim-3.5.8-5.svn20071013.ent.fc8.x86_64
kernel-devel-2.6.23.1-49.fc8.x86_64
eog-2.20.2-1.fc8.x86_64
libsmbclient-3.0.27a-0.fc8.x86_64
gnome-desktop-2.20.1-2.fc8.i386
glib2-devel-2.14.3-1.fc8.x86_64
gail-1.20.1-2.fc8.x86_64


After running "yum update" the results are as follows:

# package-cleanup --orphans
Setting up yum
VMwareTools-5.5.5-56455.i386
kernel-2.6.23.1-49.fc8.x86_64
kernel-devel-2.6.23.1-49.fc8.x86_64

So where is the utility in this utility?