[Solved] A package won't be removed

uxyz · 2019-07-05 19:02:11

I installed a package (st) from AUR, and now I'm struggling to remove it.

After I installed "st," I went to YouTube to see some "great" tutorials on how to configure it. I stepped on a video that offers the config files from GitHub. So I downloaded the files--config.h, config.h.def, makefile, st.0, etc., copied them to the "st" folder (along with removing the original files), and compiled them with the "make" & "sudo make install" commands. (Does that make sense?)

Anyhow, now after I learnt why "st" is not for newbies, I deleted it using the "pacman" command. I also deleted the "st" folder. (I'm using Ranger as a file manager.)

Unfortunately, I'm still able to run "st." Also, when I ran the "pacman" command for a second time to remove it, it said "error: target not found."

What I'm assuming is that the files I downloaded from GitHub are not fully removed; they're still there somewhere, and "st" is still able to run from there.

Thanks in advance, guys. And remember, this is the Newbie corner :]

Last edited by uxyz (2019-07-05 20:46:26)

Trilby · 2019-07-05 19:29:09

uxyz wrote:

I installed a package (st) from AUR, and now I'm struggling to remove it...
... compiled them with the "make" & "sudo make install" commands...
when I ran the "pacman" command for a second time to remove it, it said "error: target not found.

Never manually install software, use PKGBUILDs and your package manager.

You installed st first via pacman, and remove that one with pacman. But you also installed another version with `sudo make installl` (never do that in arch). That one is not tracked by pacman, so of course pacman can't remove it. If the Makefil you used includes an "uninstall" directive, you could use that with `sudo make uninstall`. Otherwise you'll have to manually find and delete any files that were installed.

The upstream makefile (if that's the one you used) installes to /usr/local, and it installs two files /usr/local/bin/st and /usr/local/share/man/man1/st.1

If that's what you used, you just need to remove those two files.

Last edited by Trilby (2019-07-05 19:31:43)

uxyz · 2019-07-05 19:54:26

Worked like a charm. Thanks! Also thanks for the advice.

seth · 2019-07-05 20:05:44

I learnt why "st" is not for newbies

And what idiot taught you that shit? It's a terminal emulator. You're almost no interacting w/ it, but with the ANSI tool (typically a shell, but could be a calculator) inside.
st has its benefits and shortcomings - they all do.

The superbest thing is: you can have a gazillion TEs around, try them next to each other, see what fits you best (also you do not want to be w/o one, so having two in case one breaks for whatever reason is a good idea anyway - unless you're very short on disk space)
Some are more fancy (and resource intense), some are very lean (and spartan), some have ridiculous configurability, some are tied to a fat desktop environment… the point is that *you* will figure what suits *you* best, regardless of your noob status.

jasonwryan · 2019-07-05 20:39:16

Please remember to mark your thread as [Solved] by editing your first post and prepending it to the title.

uxyz · 2019-07-05 20:44:17

As James Gosling once said: "The most insanely complex things, once you've sort of peeled the onion a bit, are actually pretty simple."

So, I agree with you, seth. I shouldn't have listened to that say (it's not for newbies).

However, I'm kind of tired. Just in the past 3 days, I spent 30 hours (yeah, thirty hours, without exaggerating) trying to learn Arch Linux. I gave up many times, so I removed and re-installed the distribution for like 20 times.
And I honestly didn't want to post a question, but my brain just... stopped working, and I couldn't handle seeing "st" sitting there laughing at me. LOL!

I'm currently using MATE-terminal. So far it suits my needs, so I'll stick with it. I'll also install "st" as a second terminal, and learn how to configure it later.

Thanks for the reply. I really appreciate it.

Last edited by uxyz (2019-07-05 20:58:08)

Trilby · 2019-07-05 20:52:54

While, strictly speaking, I agree with Seth, I think there is a miscommunication due to different levels of abstraction here.

St, once built and installed, is at least as "newbie" friendly as any terminal emulator. Perhaps even more as there is no opportunity - and thus no need - to do any sort of configuring whatsoever: it is what it is, and that's it.

However, given that most users would want to do some tweaking of the config, they would also then have to modify a C header file and (re)compile and (re)install st. While many archers take this for granted, it may not be trivial for "newbies" to do this, where any joe-idiot can move a little slider on a color bar in a config dialog.

So, in this sense, one could rightly say that configuring st is not as "newbie" friendly as configuring many other terminal emulators. And as a shorthand one might just express this as st itself not being for newbies.

On the flip side, if modifying a simple well-commented header file and re-running makepkg is problematic for you, then you may want to consider whether arch linux itself is a wise choice. If you are open to and capable of learning some basics of how software works, you'll fit right in with arch, but if you want it to "just work" without ever wanting to look under the hood, then you'd probably be a lot happier with a distro with those goals.

Alad · 2019-07-06 18:43:40

On the flip side, if modifying a simple well-commented header file and re-running makepkg is problematic for you, then you may want to consider whether arch linux itself is a wise choice.

I was well-over a year into Arch before I knew how to handle anything relating to C - including "well-commented" header files.

Either way, I would advise to steer clear from youtube videos on Linux configuration or even software topics in general. The format may be appealing to some, but there's just too much nonsense floating about.

Last edited by Alad (2019-07-06 18:45:14)

Trilby · 2019-07-06 19:39:50

And clearly you were open to and capable of learning.

Arch Linux

#1 2019-07-05 19:02:11

[Solved] A package won't be removed

#2 2019-07-05 19:29:09

Re: [Solved] A package won't be removed

#3 2019-07-05 19:54:26

Re: [Solved] A package won't be removed

#4 2019-07-05 20:05:44

Re: [Solved] A package won't be removed

#5 2019-07-05 20:39:16

Re: [Solved] A package won't be removed

#6 2019-07-05 20:44:17

Re: [Solved] A package won't be removed

#7 2019-07-05 20:52:54

Re: [Solved] A package won't be removed

#8 2019-07-06 18:43:40

Re: [Solved] A package won't be removed

#9 2019-07-06 19:39:50

Re: [Solved] A package won't be removed

Board footer