RFC: best way to fix the regular yum dependency problems with add-on packages from 3rd party repositories

[Thorsten Leemhuis]

On 02.08.2008 16:47, David Timms wrote:
> Thorsten Leemhuis wrote:
>>> $ sudo yum update
>>> [...]
>>> Resolving Dependencies
>>> --> Running transaction check
>>> ---> Package kmod-nvidia.i686 0:173.14.09-5.lvn9 set to be updated
>>> --> Processing Dependency: kmod-nvidia-2.6.25.11-97.fc9.i686 = 
>>> 173.14.09-5.lvn9 for package: kmod-nvidia
>>> --> Running transaction check
>>> ---> Package kmod-nvidia-2.6.25.11-97.fc9.i686.i686 0:173.14.09-5.lvn9 
>>> set to be updated
>>> --> Processing Dependency: kernel-uname-r = 2.6.25.11-97.fc9.i686 for 
>>> package: kmod-nvidia-2.6.25.11-97.fc9.i686
>>> --> Finished Dependency Resolution
>>> kmod-nvidia-2.6.25.11-97.fc9.i686-173.14.09-5.lvn9.i686 from livna has 
>>> depsolving problems
>>>   --> Missing Dependency: kernel-uname-r = 2.6.25.11-97.fc9.i686 is 
>>> needed by
>>> package kmod-nvidia-2.6.25.11-97.fc9.i686-173.14.09-5.lvn9.i686 (livna)
>>> Error: Missing Dependency: kernel-uname-r = 2.6.25.11-97.fc9.i686 is 
>>> needed by
>>> package kmod-nvidia-2.6.25.11-97.fc9.i686-173.14.09-5.lvn9.i686 (livna)
>> I'd like to find a solution to solve this problem (which is *not* 
> I got the impression that this is exactly what --skip-broken is for; 

Yeah, maybe. But I'd prefer to solve problems instead of hiding them :-/

> yet it either doesn't get all cases, or isn't enabled by default.

Especially the latter is the key point. :-/

 > [...] The yum/PK summary
> should simply state:
> installed 27 packages: x y z etc
> 3 packages are not currently downloadable: a b h
> 2 packages have conflicting requirements h k
> leading to 7 packages not being installed at this time. These packages 
> will be checked again at the next update. [ps. PK shouldn't keep 
> informing me that there is updates available if the remaining 'to do' 
> set can't resolve !]

I suppose a lot of users won't look that close and some GUIs will likely 
hide such a output. So I don't like that idea to much, as it afaik could 
block important updates of certain packages for months or years if the 
user has a local packages (an orphan or a manually installed RPM from 
non-Fedora repos) installed that is the culprit for the dependency problem.

What IMHO might work is a "skip broken" plugin that for example ignores 
broken deps for a certain timeframe (say 48 oder 72 hours after the 
problems was hit for the first time) and boils out after that in case 
the broken dep still isn't fixed.

CU
knurd