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The Question: How can I remove an apt package dependency permanently? (running Ubuntu 20.04)

My Example

I have TeX Live 2020 installed via TUG install script, the binaries are located in /usr/local/texlive/2020/bin/x86_64-linux/. Now I would like to install ipe. However, ipe has a dependency on texlive-latex-base, which I do not want to be installed (it is bulky and useless -- actually it installs the 2019 version at the moment).

What I figured out to do so far is to force-remove all texlive packages manually with

$ sudo dpkg -r --force-depends "texlive-latex-base"
$ sudo dpkg -r --force-depends "texlive-base"
$ sudo dpkg -r --force-depends "texlive-binaries"

and then manually remove the ipe's dependency in /var/lib/dpkg/status.

However, this is not a permanent solution. Indeed, after running, e.g., an update, the texlive packages get installed automatically (probably by some black magic -- I even deleted the cached .deb packages) and the status file gets refreshed and the texlive-latex-base dependency of ipe emerges again.

N.b.: similar question here: Ignoring specific unmet dependencies with aptitude? but no relevant answer (i.e., no permanent solution asked and/or suggested).

fakub
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  • The most creepy thing is that texlive gets installed even on background without any notification. This lead to situations like you compile once -- it works, you compile next time -- it fails (due to missing packages, obviously). So at least I would like to disable this kind of autoinstall. – fakub Sep 25 '20 at 10:33
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    Look at http://www.tug.org/texlive/debian.html , under 'Integrating vanilla TeX Live with Debian' and also http://www.tug.org/texlive/files/debian-equivs-2020-ex.txt . The idea is that you create and install a dummy package that says that you have TL installed as a distribution package. This prevents the package system from installing the real TL distribution packages. – Siep Oct 09 '20 at 19:35
  • This works well for me, thanks! However, this is not an answer to the original question in general, in case someone needs it for any reason. – fakub Oct 15 '20 at 19:13
  • Equivs dummy packages can be created for any package, as far as I can make out. – Siep Oct 20 '20 at 21:07

0 Answers0