[1] KDE depends on Python !?! [2] apt-get remove estimates space-to-be-freed badly
The KDE 2.2.2 Woody/unstable box that I'm building ran out of disk space the other day (already over 900 Mb used, and all I have is gcc, perl, python, kde, kdevelop and koffice ... jeez). So I set about removing some stuff - regretfully I decided to remove Python (I did want to play with it, but I don't need it right now). I listed what there was installed, and for some reason there are python 1.5 debs *and* python 2.1 debs (in fact loads of confusing version numbers). Not really knowing what I was looking at, and needing to delete something quickly, I tried deleting the 1.5 debs, only to have apt-get tell me both *kde* and *koffice* would be *removed* if I went ahead ! : GBHBW205:~# dpkg -l python* Desired=Unknown/Install/Remove/Purge/Hold | Status=Not/Installed/Config-files/Unpacked/Failed-config/Half-installed |/ Err?=(none)/Hold/Reinst-required/X=both-problems (Status,Err: uppercase=bad) ||/ Name Version Description +++-==============-==============-========================================== == un python <none> (no description available) ii python-base 1.5.2-18.4 An interactive object-oriented ii python-bobo 2.1.4-5 Python Object Publisher un python-bobodtm <none> (no description available) ii python-bobopos 2.1-4 The Bobo Persistent Object System. un python-bsddb <none> (no description available) un python-curses <none> (no description available) in python-dev <none> (no description available) ii python-doc 2.1.1.0-2 Documentation for the scripting un python-ecasoun <none> (no description available) un python-elisp <none> (no description available) in python-example <none> (no description available) ii python-extclas 1.2-4 Improves integration between Python in python-gdbm <none> (no description available) ii python-gdk-iml 0.6.6-2 GTK gdk_imlib support module for ii python-gendoc 0.73-5 Documentation generation from Python ii python-glade 0.6.6-2 Put a bit of python code behind pn python-gnome <none> (no description available) ii python-gtk 0.6.6-2 GTK support module for Python. un python-imaging <none> (no description available) un python-imaging <none> (no description available) un python-imaging <none> (no description available) ii python-kjbucke 2.2-6 Set and graph data types for Python un python-kwparsi <none> (no description available) ii python-ldap 1.8-1 An LDAP module for Python. un python-misc <none> (no description available) in python-mpz <none> (no description available) ii python-mxdatet 1.3.0-5 Date and time handling routines and un python-net <none> (no description available) ii python-netcdf 2.2-2 A netCDF interface for Python ii python-newt 0.50.17-7 A newt module for Python. ii python-numeric 17.1.2-5 Numerical (matrix-oriented) ii python-numeric 17.1.2-5 Tutorial for the Numerical Python ii python-pam 0.4.2-3 A Python interface to the PAM un python-pcgi <none> (no description available) in python-pmw <none> (no description available) un python-pmw-doc <none> (no description available) un python-pygresq <none> (no description available) un python-pyqt <none> (no description available) un python-regrtes <none> (no description available) un python-stats <none> (no description available) in python-tk <none> (no description available) un python-xlib <none> (no description available) ii python-xml 0.6.6-2 XML tools for Python (1.5.x) un python-zlib <none> (no description available) un python1.5 <none> (no description available) ii python1.5-base 1.5.2-18.4 An interactive object-oriented un python2 <none> (no description available) un python2-base <none> (no description available) un python2-dev <none> (no description available) un python2-zlib <none> (no description available) ii python2.1 2.1.1-4 An interactive object-oriented un python2.1-base <none> (no description available) ii python2.1-dev 2.1.1-4 Header files and a static library ii python2.1-doc 2.1.1.0-2 Documentation for the scripting ii python2.1-exam 2.1.1-4 Examples for the scripting language ii python2.1-gdbm 2.1.1-4 GNU dbm database support for Python ii python2.1-mpz 2.1.1-4 Multiple-precision arithmetic un ii python2.1-tk 2.1.1-4 Tkinter - Writing Tk applications GBHBW205:~# GBHBW205:~# df Filesystem 1k-blocks Used Available Use% Mounted on /dev/hda3 1035692 920436 62644 94% / /dev/hda1 1541984 1079712 462272 71% /dosc GBHBW205:~# apt-get remove python1.5-base Reading Package Lists... Done Building Dependency Tree... Done The following extra packages will be installed: gadfly gimp-python htmlgen libnewt0 python python-bobo python-bobopos python-extclass python-gdk-imlib python-gendoc python-glade python-gtk python-kjbuckets python-newt python-numeric python-numeric-tutorial python-pam python-xml python2.1 python2.1-dev python2.1-gdbm python2.1-kjbuckets python2.1-mpz python2.1-numeric python2.1-tk python2.1-xml python2.1-xmlbase The following packages will be REMOVED: kde kivio koffice pydb python-base python-mxdatetime python1.5-base pythondoc The following NEW packages will be installed: python python2.1-kjbuckets python2.1-numeric python2.1-xml python2.1-xmlbase 22 packages upgraded, 5 newly installed, 8 to remove and 86 not upgraded. Need to get 4827kB of archives. After unpacking 4744kB will be freed. Do you want to continue? [Y/n] n Abort. ============================================================= Huh ? KDE depends on python1.5-base ? Is that correct ? Well I sure didn't want to do that, so just for the hell of it I tried deleting some of Python 2.1 instead. Strangely this didn't demand the deletion of anything else much, so I did it : ============================================================= GBHBW205:~# apt-get remove python2.1 Reading Package Lists... Done Building Dependency Tree... Done The following packages will be REMOVED: idle-python2.1 python2.1 python2.1-dev python2.1-examples python2.1-gdbm python2.1-mpz python2.1-tk 0 packages upgraded, 0 newly installed, 7 to remove and 101 not upgraded. Need to get 0B of archives. After unpacking 8735kB will be freed. Do you want to continue? [Y/n] y GBHBW205:~# df Filesystem 1k-blocks Used Available Use% Mounted on /dev/hda3 1035692 902340 80740 92% / /dev/hda1 1541984 1079712 462272 71% /dosc ============================================================= So far, so good (nothing seems to be broken), but wait ... look at those before & after disk space figures : before removing anything 62644 Kb apt-get remove says it will free 8735 Kb after running apt-get remove 80740 Kb so 18096 Kb was actually freed - not 8735 Kb at all ... Is apt-get's estimate badly broken ? Cheers, Nick Bristol, UK -- The last ~700 Kalahari Bushmen are being evicted from their ancestral homeland by the Botswanan government *now*, so that De Beers & Anglo-American can prospect for diamonds. The Bushmen are having their water supply cut off ... [11.Jan.2001]