[Yum] Hmmm, an actual new feature request...

[seth vidal]

> While doing removals, one encounters the usual dependency resolution
> problem that yum addresses in installs, but in the other direction where
> it is conceivably even more difficult.  It is easy to add packages to
> satisfy dependencies -- it is REALLY HARD to disentangle packages for
> safe removal.


> 
> Here yum is a bit more easily confused and doesn't seem to always want
> to do the right thing.

1. what version of yum
2. what version of rhl - 7.3?

under 7.3 libuser requires openldap
usermode requires libuser
util-linux requires usermode
nfs-utils requires util-linux (specifically /sbin/nologin)

so you get a removal dependency cascade.

So what happens is this - yum gets to a point where it doesn't know what
else it can remove nor what to remove.

sometimes this is b/c there are insufficient dep/req information in any
package to figure out where it should be.

sometimes it's b/c at some point you remove enough things and your
system doesn't exist.


a yum depends pkgname is on the todo list
(http://linux.duke.edu/yum/yum-todo.ptml) but it is not as easy as it
seems  at first glance. Especially if you want to see dep lists for
not-installed programs.


> Or am I being very silly and does yum already do all of this?

yum doesn't do all of this - and some of those ideas are VERY VERY
complex in terms of producing them.

it is something I want to work on wrt to the new depresolution stuff but
it's not going to happen tomorrow.

-sv