Re: [Buildroot] [PATCH] package/pkg-generic: add support for uninstalling packages

[Thomas Petazzoni via buildroot <buildroot@buildroot.org>]

Hello,

On Tue, Mar 17, 2026 at 01:41:25PM +0530, Shubham Chakraborty wrote:

> I didn't consider reverse dependencies. The scenario you described
> (uninstalling openssl breaking ntp) is a
> serious problem that makes the current implementation unsafe.
> 
> I see a few potential approaches to address this:
> 
>  1. Add dependency checking that refuses to uninstall if reverse
> dependencies exist (similar to package managers like apt/dnf)

This would make the feature useless for a significant number of
packages I'd say.

>  2. Implement cascade uninstall (uninstall the package and all its reverse
> dependencies)

This would probably be the logical thing, I guess?

>  4. Simply document this as a "use at your own risk" feature for advanced
> debugging scenarios
> 
> I wanted to ask: would any of these approaches be acceptable for Buildroot?
> Or is the fundamental issue that without proper
> dependency tracking during uninstall, this feature is too dangerous to
> include regardless of warnings/checks?

This has so far been the project's opinion on this topic. But nothing
is set in stone forever, so we can always revisit/rediscuss things.

Thomas
-- 
Thomas Petazzoni, co-owner and CEO, Bootlin
Embedded Linux and Kernel engineering and training
https://bootlin.com
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