[Mageia-dev] [RFC] debloating minimal system

[Thierry Vignaud]

Hi

Currently our minimal system is pretty bloated (unless one install really
minimal system without suggested packages).

For example, installing udev will bring in many GNOME packages.

See https://bugs.mageia.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1750
and https://bugs.mageia.org/show_bug.cgi?id=609

See the following require cycle:
udev -> libglib -> glib2.0-common -> libgio -> libgvfs -> gvfs->
libgnome-keyring -> gnome-keyring -> lib64(gtk|gnome)*

Why?
Because manual requires are added else some stuff wouldn't work because they
are dlopen()ed instead of being linked to

Note that pixel, fcrozat & me broke those cycles years ago (early 2008). Eg:
- create sub-package libgio2.0_0 which suggests libgvfs0 to break
require/suggest
  link consolekit->glib->gvfs->hal

But as we all know the empire always strikes back.
Eg: now glib2.0-common requires the gio sub-package, which defeats its purpose.
This was broken in "Add Requires(post) for gio modules list generation":
http://svn.mandriva.com/cgi-bin/viewvc.cgi/packages/cooker/glib2.0/current/SPECS/glib2.0.spec?r1=499567&r2=499568&

What's "funny" is that we still carry that whereas  gio-querymodules-*
were then moved to
the gio sub-package and are now called from there...

I've just fixed that, but it would be nice if:
- more people try to minimize minimal system
- packagers watch what they're doing
- some people watch minimal system size (maybe some bot should do that?).

We may need to break further pkg cycles for minimal BS

See you