Date: Mon, 26 Apr 2004 14:14:18 +0300 (EEST) From: Jari Kirma <kirma@cs.hut.fi> To: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org Subject: Garbage collection of installed packages Message-ID: <Pine.GSO.4.58.0404261356200.24624@hutcs.cs.hut.fi>
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I have been observing how over long time, fbsd systems tend to gain packages that have been installed as a dependency of some other package, but later the original dependency leading to their installation has either changed to something else or disappeared completely, leaving package that's never explicitly installed nor required by any other package. So, my question is, is there an easy way to recognise these "garbage" packages? Only obvious way to do this, at least that I've thought of, would be to have "explicitly required" flag in the package, or a dependency on a special package which would contain all potentially top-level packages. Problem with this, and all scenarios is that packages that would have installed as "explicitly requred" (not as a dependency of some other package) can be used, for instance by developers, without flagging them explicitly required after all. Anyway, a suggestion more informed hint about which installed packages are actually garbage, would be nice. (In above scenario, such packages would be ones without explicitly required flag and without any other packages requiring them.) -kirma
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