How to completely remove an application as well as the configuration files?

[Steve Lamb]

On Sun, Sep 07, 2008 at 08:00:13PM -0400, Ashley Benton wrote:
> I installed apache2 again (it was working uninstalled) Before the
> installation I found 80 files by searching apache2 now I have 84. I  can't
> tell you which one are news because I don't know it myself and I don't know
> how to find the files and compare by using the command line yet.

    Ok, in explaining the differences between apt and aptitude in the spawned
thread I see what is going on here.

    apache2 is a virtual package, nothing more.  It depends on the actual
package which is one of these three:

{grey at igbuntu:~} apt-cache show apache2 | grep Depends:
Depends: apache2-mpm-worker (>= 2.2.8-1ubuntu0.3) | apache2-mpm-prefork (>=
2.2.8-1ubuntu0.3) | apache2-mpm-event (>= 2.2.8-1ubuntu0.3)

    That, in turn, depends on apache2.2-common which itself depends on, I
believe, apache2-utils.

    The problem is since you're addind/removing apache2 with apt which does
not remove dependancies that are no longer needed all you're doing is adding
and removig the virtual package that probably contains the minimum files in
/usr/share/doc/apache2 needed to satisfy Debian's policy.  Copyright, Readme,
Readme.debian and changlog.

    Try this instead:

apt-get purge apache2 apache2-mpm-worker apache2.2-common

    If -worker is not the one installed (I think apt-get installs the first
dependancy when ORs are given) then try -prefork or -event.  I think if you
purge all three you'll get rid of most of the configuration files.  From there
you could probably just delete the the straglers since those would be files
you added to the directories that the package manager does not know about.

-- 
         Steve C. Lamb         | But who can decide what they dream
       PGP Key: 1FC01004       |      and dream I do
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