Bug 30667 - rpmdrake: provide no-recommends + more information
Summary: rpmdrake: provide no-recommends + more information
Status: NEW
Alias: None
Product: Mageia
Classification: Unclassified
Component: RPM Packages (show other bugs)
Version: Cauldron
Hardware: All Linux
Priority: Normal enhancement
Target Milestone: ---
Assignee: Mageia tools maintainers
QA Contact:
URL:
Whiteboard:
Keywords:
Depends on:
Blocks:
 
Reported: 2022-07-25 10:32 CEST by aguador
Modified: 2022-07-26 09:55 CEST (History)
0 users

See Also:
Source RPM: rpmdrake-6.32-2.mga9.src.rpm
CVE:
Status comment:


Attachments

Description aguador 2022-07-25 10:32:21 CEST
When installing new packages via rpmdrake (drakrpm) recommends are automatically selected. As currently designed the tool lacks two features:

o  Immediate differentiation between recommends and hard dependencies
o  Option to exclude recommends (--no-recommends)

First, when the dependencies popup appears it designates all ancillary packages as "dependencies", and it is not until one clicks on "More information" that one can see which packages are recommends. At a minimum the initial popup should differentiate between hard dependencies and recommends.

Example, in https://bugs.mageia.org/show_bug.cgi?id=30666, attempting to install lxappearance on my system generated several "dependencies" that, when the more information button was clicked, were shown to be recommends.

Second, when recommends are identified, rpmdrake provides no simply way to exclude the installation of "recommends". Obviously, one can use urpmi with --no-recommends, but that has two drawbacks: a) if one started with the GUI, one must exit and open a terminal and b) some users will be "command-line shy".
Comment 1 aguador 2022-07-25 10:51:20 CEST
While differentiating between recommends and dependencies should not be difficult, I realize that implementing --no-recommends in rpmdrake more difficult and can be done in different ways:

o Blanket --no-recommends
o After the fact exclusion of individual/all recommends

The first option could be simply to exclude recommends from installs. This could be a "persistant" option that is remembered once set, or one that can be set for a particular session, perhaps after seeing the list of recommends for a package to be installed.

The second seems more difficult and would be to allow the user to choose to include the recommends in the installation or not, either individually or all.

I have no strong preferences, but do believe that some way of excluding recommends is needed for the graphical tool.
Comment 2 Lewis Smith 2022-07-26 09:55:43 CEST
Thank you for the suggestion, which I am forwarding directly to the 'mageiatools' people.
This suggestion emerged from bug 30666, a specifically erroneous case. Let us bear in mind that users are by and large content with the current behaviour, if unaware of 'recommended' additions.

I would rule out both a session or system-wide/persistant 'recommends' choice.

This gets convoluted if you choose to install >1 package at a time, and your recommends preference differs for each one: you want the 'recommends' for some, but not others.

Assignee: bugsquad => mageiatools


Note You need to log in before you can comment on or make changes to this bug.