[Mageia-dev] Orphans - those poor orphans . . .

[Robert Fox]

On Fri, 2012-01-06 at 12:27 +0100, Wolfgang Bornath wrote:
> 2012/1/6 Robert Fox <list at foxconsult.net>:
> > After latest Cauldron updates, I got a real long list of suggested
> > "orphans" - but I believe some of these packages are needed (like hal or
> > basesystem-minimal) -
> >
> > How do I clear out the orphans - like reset the logic behind it so the
> > correct packages will be orphaned?  Or is a fresh install in order??
> >
> >
> > The following packages:
> >  aisleriot-3.3.1-1.mga2.x86_64
> >  alacarte-0.13.2-3.mga1.noarch
> >  alsa-plugins-doc-1.0.24-5.mga2.noarch
> > ....
> 
> This is a well known issue.
> To clear out the list you need a deep knowledge of the system to
> determine which packages are really not needed anymore.
> 
> Lately  this --auto-orphans line shreddered my whole system on a fresh
> install after the first update, several system services could not
> start at next reboot, applications did not run, etc. One of the very
> few times I had to re-install because of a bug. Call me newbie or
> pussy but until this is not a secure function I will never touch it
> again.
> 

Wolfgang, I would never call you a pussy ;-)

I agree with your comments, and that is the reason I brought this topic
to this list - the "auto-orphans" feature is sometimes unreliable (or
unpredictable) and Mageia should consider either removing it or
improving it so it works as advertised.  I too had sporadic problems
with this function and hesitate to use it when it spits out such a list
(where I am not sure what is "safe to remove or not)

Cheers,
Robert