apt-get purge

[Derek Broughton]

Alex Katebi wrote:

Please stop top-posting.  It's impossible to have a conversation.

> This is what happend. I tried it on a new ubuntu install. I had done a
> remove libreadline5 not libreadline5-dev. Since libreadline5 is used by
> many other packages it removed them too. (it did prompt me for Y/N). So
> the moral of the story is that if you try to remove a base package like
> the readline5 you endup removing and damaging your system. I think the
> designers of apt-get made the wrong choice.

You're kidding?  First, you tried to remove the wrong package.  Then, you 
ignored the warnings it gave you.  And now you're upset that Linux lets you 
do bad things.

> They should refuse to remove a
> building block until all the top blocks are removed by the user first. 

Sorry, but those of us who actually understand our packaging system actually 
want to be able to do anything we want with it.  We can't have Linux holding 
our hand so tight that we can't explore.

I would go so far as to accept that perhaps libreadline5 should be marked 
"essential" - for instance, if you try:
   $ sudo apt-get remove mount
You get this:
  WARNING: The following essential packages will be removed.
  This should NOT be done unless you know exactly what you are doing!
    mount
  ...
  You are about to do something potentially harmful.
  To continue type in the phrase 'Yes, do as I say!'

Unfortunately, libreadline5 only seems to be a dependency of GUI programs, 
and so I can't see how you could make it "essential" for Kubuntu/Ubuntu, 
etc, but not for Ubuntu Server.

> On
> the other hand if you really know what you are doing it is more powerful
> the way it works.

Precisely.