#408344 bug408344: removing kdeedu package should not remove kde

On Wednesday 11 April 2007, Sharuzzaman Ahmat Raslan wrote:
> Please visit the URL below:
>
> http://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=408344
>
> When I first install KDE, I use the command apt-get
install kde, where
> the dependency requirement will automatically install
all the required
> packages.
>
> Looking at KDE package information, kde depends on
kde-amusements and
> kde-amusements depends on kdeedu
>
> Thus removing kdeedu will break kde-amusements. To
satisfy the
> dependency, kde-amusements must be removed, but it will
break kde.
> Removing kde will remove everything.
>
> I'm not sure how to resolve this issue, but having a
forward dependency,
> but not backward might solve this issue.

that's not a bug here's why:
- the kde package is expected to pull in _all_ kde packages,
so yes it
  should pull in kdeedu, sounds like what you want is the
kde-core package
- metapackages like kde or kdeedu contain nothing, they only
specify
  dependencies 
  -> removing _just_ the metapackage can be done without
losing any software
 
  HOWEVER aptitude tries to be 'smart' when removing
packages, trying to
  ensure no unneeded packages remain. By default aptitude
will remove all
  packages installed because package A depends on them when
you remove
  package A.

  -> the problem is in the 'smarts' of aptitude not being
smart enough
    => the solution is making aptitude smart enought to
handle metapackages
       which it currently isn't
    => short term you probably want to explicitly tell
aptitude what it
       needs to do (from [1] that sune pointed you to in
your bug): 
       a shortcut in the visual interface would be to jump
into the
       depends screen and hit 'm' on the Depends tree (maybe
also on
       Recommends). Thus explicitly telling aptitude to
leave the packages
       alone.

[1] http://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=328441
-- 
Cheers, cobaco (aka Bart Cornelis)