What does removal mean?

[Ditzian]

There are a number of programs that, for an unknown reason, are installed in my PCLinuxOS.  Some of these seem to be unnecessary, but when I check uninstall, they say that they will remove other programs that I use.  I suspect that these other programs will not be removed, but I do not want to be unpleasantly surprised.  Here is an example:

thai-data      Thai language support data.  Data stuff for libthai.

If I mark this for removal, it pops up a list "to be removed" that includes almost every other program in PCLinuxOS, including Firefox, Filezilla, etc.  Is it the case that these programs are actually to be removed, or is this simply unfortunate wording for some other action?

Jan

[muungwana]

it means what you think it means. They will be removed as in taken out of your system and you will no longer have access to them. There is a dependency chain btw packages that must always be maintained. Removing one package could break the chain and all other packages that depend on the "link" must also be removed and they could, inturn attempt to pull down other packages.

This is why sometimes you may want to remove one package and be surprised when another package that doesnt seem to be related at all to the package you want to remove is also included in the list of packages to be removed.

Low level libraries are more likely to have have complicated dependency chains and may break a lot of stuff when removed.

If you think there is a dependency link that shouldnt be there. You can open a thread in the appropriate place and make your case and i am sure it will be looked at

[Rudge]

Think of it like a bicycle. You can just remove the wheels, but then the whole bicycle would be useless. So to reduce confusion, the entire bicycle is removed.   

[Maurice]

Think of it like a bicycle. You can just remove the wheels, but then the whole bicycle would be useless. So to reduce confusion, the entire bicycle is removed.  

Reminds me of my first bike a thousand years ago. A beautiful Rudge-Whitworth.

Just Ecosia-ed it and found  ... The company also produced the first detachable wire wheel in 1907, and was known for its knockoff wheels on sports cars well into the 1960s.

Sorrry - off topic. Or is it?

[Crow]

Think of it like a bicycle. You can just remove the wheels, but then the whole bicycle would be useless. So to reduce confusion, the entire bicycle is removed.  

Reminds me of my first bike a thousand years ago. A beautiful Rudge-Whitworth.

Just Ecosia-ed it and found  ... The company also produced the first detachable wire wheel in 1907, and was known for its knockoff wheels on sports cars well into the 1960s.

Sorrry - off topic. Or is it?

Mmmmm  kind of a dog bikes, isn't it?   

[Rudge]

Alright, everybody has to pick on me.  Go ahead, I can take it! 

[Ditzian]

I remember that a friend had a Rudge.  It was the nicest bicycle in the neighborhood.  We called the multi-speed bikes "English racers" back then.  The rest of us had heavy old Schwinn bikes or, something from Sears--Huffy.  Once you went to high school, even though the commute was several times the distance, you could never be seen on a bicycle again, or your social status was tanked.

Jan