APT Is Nagging Me To Remove Things I Don't Want To Remove

[Derek Broughton]

Nigel Ridley wrote:

> Derek Broughton wrote:
>> One of the big clues is that any lib*N package, where N is an integer
>> that's actually part of the package name and not part of the version, is
>> likely safe to remove if apt says so (but looking to see if you have some
>> other package with the same name, except for the integer suffix, would be
>> advisable :-) )
> 
> That's all well and good - but how am I to *know* that I don't need such
> and such lib - trust apt - when it wants to remove the gimp, which I
> know that I do need and use?

No, as I said it's the "lib*" packages that are (generally) safe.  Trust
yourself, not apt.  If you know you need a package, you know you need it.

> It's OK if one is familiar with the system and understands differing lib
> versions but what about the like of us that are just wanting to trust
> the package manager?

These things happen - but these things do _not_ happen to people who use
stable versions of Ubuntu with no external repositories, and never use
dpkg, apt-get or aptitude directly.  Even then, if you avoid dpkg it's
rare. If you're going to use apt-get you need to learn how to cope with
this sort of thing.  None of these methods of updating your system are
recommended by Ubuntu.
-- 
derek