a 1.4 MB package recommended 230 MB of packages :|

[Reinhold Rumberger]

On Sunday 11 April 2010, Clay Weber wrote:
> Ric Moore wrote:
> >>> i understand recommends are kinda neat to have, i used to
> >>> install most of them before the default apt policy was
> >>> changed to install recommends by default, but this.... is
> >>> just extreme. i can not imagine what a regular user with no
> >>> expertise would do if he was required to install asciidoc, i
> >>> was *shocked* to see 230 MB for such a simple program. took
> >>> me till next day to remember checking if recommends are
> >>> playing a game on me, and lo and behold, asciidoc just
> >>> requires 1.4 MB.. lol sorry for the somewhat *rant*ish
> >>> message, but recommends should be somehow explained, and
> >>> giving the user a choice.
> >> 
> >> That was using apt -- what about aptitude - does it also
> >> install recommends without giving the user a say?
> > 
> > I don't>think<  that synaptic does that... I could be wrong as
> > heck though. Ric
> 
> It should, as it is still using apt underneath. There is a way to
> configure apt to *not* install recommends by default, basically
> undoing what Ubuntu re-configured from Debian defaults, but I
> cannot remember what to change right now.

http://www.ubuntu.com/getubuntu/releasenotes/810#Recommended%20packages%20installed%20by%20default

Basically, you add the following line to /etc/apt/apt.conf
APT::Install-Recommends "false";

  --Reinhold